The Carbon School District is proposing to issue a General Election Bond to finance the structural upgrades, additions and general upgrades to Helper Middle School and Carbon High School. Superintendent Lance Hatch stopped by Castle Country Radio to talk about the upcoming bond.

“First of all, we want to let everybody know that Carbon School District is the grateful recipient of property taxes that people pay in the county and the taxes that people pay go into a fund that’s called our Capital Budget and that budget can only be spent on facilities, busses, that type of thing, fixed assets,” said Superintendent Hatch. The school board allocates about $1.5 million a year towards ongoing projects. This money was used when Castle Heights Elementary needed a new parking area and when Mont Harmon Middle School needed a new roof.

However, the necessities that Carbon High School and Helper Middle School are facing will take additional monies that the Capital Budget cannot cover. “The loan that we’re seeking is a $36 million loan that would help us to address major issues at Helper Middle School and Carbon High School that there is really no way we could address with that $1.5 million a year, it would take us you know, a lifetime to save up and address the major issues. That’s the reason for the bond that everyone will see on the ballots this year,” explained Superintendent Hatch.

The $36 million would be divided up between the schools. Helper Middle School would need $10 million for mechanical electrical plumbing updates, structural upgrades, as well as updates to ADA, parking and buses plus incorporate better student common areas. The Carbon High School is looking at needing $26 million to improve students’ safety, increase classrooms, expand parking and make mechanical and general upgrades.

“The average homeowner in Carbon County will see an increase of $68.90 per year and that comes out to $5.68 per month and we don’t take that lightly. As we made these decisions, we were very careful in making sure that we did the best that we could for the taxpayer,” said Superintendent Hatch. The last time the county saw a school district bond was 20 years ago.

There will be a new voting process this year where voters will not have to attend polling locations. “It’s important for everyone to understand there is no polling place, there is no place to go to vote it’s all by mail so the ballot will be mailed out on October 15, so everyone will receive it October 16 or 17 and if you’re not watching your mail you might miss it,” stated Superintendent Hatch. The election is on November 5.