Utah’s largest school district is investing $12.9 million to buy more land in its western region, a move in anticipation of future population growth and a need for a third high school in the area amid a potential district split.
The Alpine School District Board of Education greenlit the 50-acre purchase last week. The property was previously owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is a portion of a larger 162-acre pocket of land located northwest of Utah Lake, between Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain.
“The district initiated conversations three years ago about acquiring the land,” said Dale Bills, a spokesperson for the faith’s commercial real estate investment arm Property Reserve Inc. The parcel is part of a welfare farm that the church has owned for decades, he added.
It sits just south of Brookhaven Elementary, which feeds students into both of the area’s current high schools, Westlake and Cedar Valley. But the district has yet to secure the funds needed to build a new high school on the plot.
That’s in part because voters in the Alpine School District turned down a $600 million bond in 2022 that would have funded the construction of new schools across the district, said the board’s vice president, Julie King.
The bond’s failure, according to board members, also influenced the decision to close two schools in June — Valley View Elementary in Pleasant Grove, and Sharon Elementary in Orem.
“It will eventually be a high school site,” King said of the land, “but as to how we’re going to come up with the dollars for that, for the actual construction, is still undetermined.”
The plot itself is being funded through the district’s capital fund, which are tax increments raised by the board and set aside for land purchases and buildings, said Alpine’s Business Administrator Jason Sundberg. The total amount will be paid off in two or three fiscal years, he said.
Keeping up with a growing population
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Vacant land south of Brookhaven Elementary is pictured on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. The Alpine School District is investing $12.9 million to buy 50 acres of the plot to build a new high school.
The two high schools currently on the district’s west-most side — Westlake in Saratoga Springs, and Cedar Valley in Eagle Mountain — have approximately 3,000 students and continue to grow, according to district officials.
By 2027, Cedar Valley’s enrollment may be closer to 4,000 students, and Westlake may see an increase of approximately 650 students, according to district enrollment projections.
“Based on growth that’s happening in the area,” King said, “we need the [new] high school to be under construction already.”
Despite the bond’s failure, Alpine has found other ways to fund the construction of two other new schools in its western region as it tries to accommodate area’s rapid growth.
Desert Sky Elementary debuted in Eagle Mountain this fall. Eagle Mountain’s population has skyrocketed in the past five years, increasing from roughly 35,000 residents in 2018 to an estimated 54,000 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Desert Sky Elementary principal Aaron Stevenson visits with students on the playground of the new elementary school in Eagle Mountain on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023.
Construction began on Desert Sky only a year ago. The $35 million building sits off Pony Express Parkway in the Overland neighborhood.
But just four days into the school year, Desert Sky was already nearing capacity, with administrators saying they were having to “shove things around a little bit” to make space. Desert Sky feeds exclusively into Cedar Valley High, according to the district.
In January, the board also authorized the issuance of lease revenue bonds, with a cap of $90 million, to construct a new middle school in Eagle Mountain and acquire short-term portables to address classroom overcrowding.
The $80 million school, which has not yet been named, will be located north of State Route 73 near the Arrival neighborhood, said King. Construction is already underway, and district officials expect it to open in August 2025.
A looming split
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Members of the Alpine School District Board of Education, from left, Sara Hacken, Superintendent Shane Farnsworth, Sarah Beeson and Stacey Bateman, during a public meeting on Friday, June 30, 2023.
The Alpine School District’s recent investments in new land and schools coincide with the possibility of a district split — meaning that the properties could potentially fall under the jurisdiction of a new district in just a matter of years.
Alpine covers nearly half of Utah County and enrolls 84,000 students. In May, the board voted to begin the process of studying a possible split that could create two or three new districts.
In September, Superintendent Shane Farnsworth announced that Florida-based MGT Consulting Group had been selected to perform the study though a bid process, according to King.
King said they anticipate MGT will present a timeline for the study sometime in November.
Pending the company’s recommendations — as well as the time it takes to collect data, and the public feedback that is received — a proposal for a district split may be included on next year’s ballot, King said. But the specifics are currently unknown.
Regardless of all possible outcomes for Alpine’s new properties, King said the board must make decisions based on students’ current needs.
“It’s really hard to make decisions based on ‘what ifs’,” King said. “We are moving forward based on the needs of our students in our communities. … Those kids can’t wait. Whether we split or not, that school needs to be built.”
