The plight of Wendover's grade-school kids could be resolved on Election Day, but the Tooele County Board of Education's $10 million bond issue is about much more than building an elementary school for the border town.
The result of Tuesday's balloting will determine whether homeowners are willing to fork over another $50 or so in property taxes each year to build school space or are content to let the county's rapid growth lead to overcrowded schools and a preponderance of trailers for classrooms.If voters approve the bond issue, Wendover will get a $4.4 million elementary school. Students now attend school in nine modular classrooms, brought in this year after a 10-year cooperative agreement with the Elko County, Nev., school system expired. Wendover's elementary students had attended school in West Wendover, Nev.
The bond issue also would pay for 10-classroom additions to two elementaries, one in Stansbury Park and another in east Tooele. Another Tooele elementary school would get a multipurpose room, and many of the district's 18 schools would be equipped with air conditioning systems in preparation for year-round schooling, which seems inevitable.
"We were hidden for a long period of time and we've been found," Superintendent Paul Skyles said of the county's recent growth. "In some respects that's good, and in some respects that's not so good."
The district has a current enrollment of 7,800 students, but in the next 12 years, that figure is expected to climb to more than 23,000. There are 7,000 approved building lots between Tooele and Lake Point just waiting for newcomers. New subdivisions are popping up on a weekly basis.
"On a much lower scale, I would compare it to what the Jordan District (in Salt Lake County) has experienced. Jordan still hasn't caught up and probably won't in the foreseeable future," Skyles said.
The student-to-teacher ratio in Tooele County's schools remains acceptable at about 22-to-1. Teacher salaries are competitive, about average for the state. But Skyles said the district could fall seriously behind the anticipated growth if the bond issue fails and new facilities are not built right away.
"We'd have to go back to the voters again next year and the (bond amount) would have to be higher" if Tuesday's issue fails, Skyles said. "We may end up with total schools as portable classrooms."
The Wendover Parents Committee has been supporting the effort by registering voters. Karl Sweat, normally an outspoken member of the committee, said he and other committee members have been advised by their attorney not to discuss the bond measure until after the election. If it fails, legal action could be taken against the district.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Where the $10 million would go
What: The Tooele County Board of Education is asking voters to approve the issue of $10 million in general obligation bonds to fund several building projects.
The bond would finance the construction of: a $4.4 million, 48,000-square-foot elementary school in Wendover; a $1.5 million, 10-classroom addition to East Elementary School in Tooele; a $1.4 million, 10-classroom addition to Stansbury Park Elementary School; a $550,000 multipurpose room for Harris Elementary School in Tooele; and $800,000 to install air conditioning equipment in various schools. When: Nov. 5 on the general election ballot in Tooele County.
Impact: District officials estimate the bond would increase property taxes by the following amounts, based on home values: the owner of a $100,000 home would pay an additional $50 each year, and the owner of a $150,000 home would pay an extra $74 per year.
If the bond does not pass, the district plans to hold another bond election in a year, at which time it would ask voters to approve a bond of more than $10 million. Even if the bond succeeds, the district probably will ask voters to approve another bond issue in two years.