The Box Elder School District Board of Education on Nov. 12 approved recommended architecture and construction teams for several upcoming school projects and received an informational briefing on a proposed municipal-building-authority borrowing plan to fund the work.

What the board approved

- Design West: The board voted to approve Design West for architectural services on the Discovery Elementary addition and granted district delegates authority to negotiate fees.

- Hughes Construction: The board approved Hughes Construction as construction manager/general contractor (CMGC) for the Discovery Elementary project and granted negotiation authority for fees.

- DWA (Davis/West/Architects): The board approved DWA as CMGC for the new Tremonton elementary project and granted the administration authority to negotiate fees.

Motions were made and approved by voice vote; the transcript records the motions and the chair's call for "aye" but does not include a recorded roll-call tally for those votes.

Project scope, costs and timing

Facilities director Corey Thompson (presentation beginning at SEG 597) walked the board through the Discovery Elementary addition plus two larger projects already in planning: additions and new Health & Physical Education buildings at Box Elder High and Bear River High, and a new elementary (referred to as ES 14) for the Tremonton area.

Thompson described program elements for Box Elder High: a separated bus drop-off, replacement of much of the existing CTE building with a new three-story CTE and classroom building (shelled space planned for future growth), a new health and physical education building with turf and a new weight room, and interior remodels to create additional locker rooms and functional skill spaces. He estimated the Box Elder High addition at roughly $48,000,000.

For Bear River High, Thompson said phasing is more complicated because of site constraints. He described moving the softball field to create additional parking and take advantage of existing natatorium infrastructure; his current cost estimate for Bear River is roughly $40,000,000 with an occupancy goal of late spring 2028.

For the Tremonton elementary (ES 14), Thompson said the district plans to reuse a 2017 VCBO Architects design, updated to meet new mechanical/electrical/code requirements and to add spaces such as offices and counselor rooms; he estimated that design at approximately $38,000,000. He said typical school builds aim for around an 18-month construction timeline and that, for Box Elder High's CTE replacement, abatement and demo work would push the early construction start into late spring, with a nominal occupancy window of Nov'Dec 2027.

Financing: municipal building authority recommendation

Neil Stevens, presenting on the municipal building authority (the district's vehicle to secure loan proceeds), told the board he plans a parameters meeting next month to declare how much the district would seek to borrow, then expects to go to market around March. Given recent bond sales by other Utah school districts at favorable rates, Stevens recommended a borrowing ceiling near $145,000,000 so the district can take advantage of improving market conditions if rates fall between the parameters meeting and the sale. He summarized the projects at about $138,000,000 before contingencies and emphasized that declaring a ceiling does not obligate the district to borrow the full amount.

What the board asked and next steps

Board members asked about the selection and scoring process for architects and CMGCs (procurement is run through a state RFP/statements-of-qualification process with scoring by committee members), whether reusing the 2017 design would save time and money (the team said reuse helps but code updates and site engineering still add cost), and the effect of possible project phasing on grade realignment and staffing. Stevens said the district would bring an action on the municipal building authority parameters next month.

Quotes and context

"We're estimating the cost to be roughly around $48,000,000," Corey Thompson said of the Box Elder High addition. Neil Stevens recommended setting "a ceiling closer to $145,000,000 so we can take advantage of those changing market conditions." Both figures were presented as preliminary estimates and subject to contingencies.

The board approved the recommended firms by voice vote during the meeting; no roll-call tallies for those items are included in the transcript. The administration will return with negotiated fees and the municipal-building-authority action items in forthcoming meetings.

Why it matters

If financed and built as outlined, the package would reshape CTE offerings, athletic and physical-education facilities, and capacity across the district. The board's approvals move the district into design and contract negotiations and toward a borrowing decision that could exceed $100 million once contingencies and final scopes are set.