Over the last few weeks, Superintendent Lance Hatch has come into Castle Country Radio to speak on the improvement bond that is listed on the voting ballots that have recently been sent to voters via U.S. Mail.  He has taken the time on each segment to explain the necessities that are needed at each of the schools. Those schools that are looking to benefit from the bond are Helper Middle and Carbon High School, both of which are the oldest school buildings in the district.

“The main point that we want to get across is through regular property taxes we receive an amount of money each year that we use to keep the facilities updated but we are now facing some issues with some older buildings, are two oldest buildings that are so significant that we are approaching the public and asking for their support on acquiring a $36 million bond, which is like a loan that’s paid off over a period of 20 years,” explained Superintendent Hatch. The funds used from the property taxes in the past have been used to replace the roof at Mont Harmon Middle School and assisted with the addition on the Castle Valley Center.  However, the structural improvements and upgrades needed at Helper Middle and Carbon High Schools are much more than what the current property tax fund can assist with at this time.

Helper Middle School is in need of $10 million to complete the necessary enhancements that the building is needing. “One of the major issues with that building is that the walls they’re not adequately attached to prevent seismic, a seismic problem it wouldn’t prevent structural damage so we are concerned about that, we want to make sure that it is taken care of. We also have the mechanical issues at that building with a boiler system that’s really old and its really not working so we need to take care of that along with ADA issues, parking for busses, that kind of thing. There’s some significant work that needs to be done so that building can continue to serve us,” stated Superintendent Hatch. If all the improvements are made the building itself could provide the educational needs for students for another 20 plus years.

Carbon High School is in need of $26 million to complete its necessary additions and improvements. “We have some other student safety concerns at the high school, they don’t have to do with the structure of the high school that’s pretty sound. But it has to do with the access that people have to the building. Where we have eight classrooms in portable units at the back of the school, that’s a huge problem for us. When we know that the research and everything indicates that the best way to organize a school is to have one single safe entry point that requires people to go through the office so we want to do that through an addition and that addition would be constructed where the courtyard is now,” said Superintendent Hatch. Other improvements would include additional classrooms, extra parking, mechanical and general upgrades to heating and cooling.

Voters should have begun to receive ballots in their mailboxes after October 15 and keep in mind that the election is on November 15. Voters interested in supporting the Helper Middle and Carbon School projects will vote “FOR” the bond and follow ballot instructions to submit their vote through the mail.

To learn more about the Carbon School District Bond Election visit their website at https://sites.google.com/view/carbonschooldistrictbond2019/home