SALT LAKE CITY — The Iron County and the Box Elder school districts are joining the Salt Lake City and Murray school districts in placing a bond proposal on the ballot.

Box Elder School District last bonded in 2007, securing $70 million for various district improvements. Seventeen years later — the longest-ever period between bonds for the district — it is now seeking $220 million for reconfiguration and new construction projects.

The Iron County School District is seeking to bond for $66 million after its 2023 bond proposal failed by a narrow margin. The $66 million, if approved, would go toward two projects.

Here's a breakdown of the need for the bonds in the respective districts and what the money could be put towards.

Iron County School District

Iron County is a fast-growing school district, jumping from 9,544 students in 2019 to 15,000 students in 2024.

Currently, the district is made up of three preschools, nine elementary schools, two middle schools, three high schools and four alternative learning settings.

With this in mind, the district wants to build a new, 10th elementary school to account for growth.

The capacity of the new school would be around 650 to 700 students and is estimated to cost about $36 million. While the location is currently undecided, it would likely be somewhere between Iron Springs and Three Peaks elementary schools, just northwest of Cedar City.

In addition to the new elementary school, the district wants to build a building specifically designed to house alternative programs such as Launch High and Southwest Education Academy — which helps "deficient" high school students get a diploma, according to the district website.

Southwest Education Academy is currently limited to space in five mobile buildings on the campus just east of Cedar High School and can only serve 60 students at any given time.

Launch High is a project-based learning model currently limited to about 200 students who attend every other day.

The new building would house both programs and cost around $30 million.

If the bond is approved, enrollment for both programs — which currently have waiting lists — could double, the district said.

Box Elder School District

While the Box Elder School District hasn't experienced the rapid growth of Iron County, it has buildings that need to be replaced and improved for a myriad of reasons.

"Bear River and Box Elder Middle School, we'd like to build new schools. They're old, they're inefficient, they're unsafe," said Steve Carlsen, district superintendent.

The cost of building the two new middle schools, Carlsen said, will be roughly $70 million for each.

Additionally, the bond would secure $66 million to fund renovations for Bear River High School and Box Elder High School.

Related:

Here's what 2 school districts in Salt Lake County hope to accomplish through proposed bonds

Voters will decide on bond proposals for both the Salt Lake City and the Murray school districts.

These renovations would include adding instructional spaces for incoming freshmen, updated career and technical education spaces and core classrooms at both high schools.

The district also wants to renovate Lake View and North Park Elementary schools and the bond would include adding air conditioning in all elementary schools without it.

Additional information for the Box Elder School District bond can be found here, and information for Iron County's bond can be found here.

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