Estimated cost to replace West, Highland high schools: $600m

The recommended option for renovating West High School would preserve its main entrance, but little else.
Photo by David Ricketts

The Salt Lake City School Board in February reviewed feasibility studies to tear down and rebuild West and Highland high schools but made no decisions on proposed building options or whether to initiate a bond process to pay the estimated $600 million combined construction cost. Two separate architectural firms and board-appointed advisory boards (one for each school) have been working since September to gather information on the needs of these schools and on the proposed cost of rebuilding each school.

According to district spokesperson Yàndary Chatwin, the school board looks at every school in the district each year to determine student needs, safety considerations, and maintenance opportunities. Major problems – including overcrowded classrooms and ongoing maintenance – came up at Highland and West high schools, precipitating a need to look at them more closely.

Chatwin said the advisory boards and architects looked at student growth, classroom size, and the costs associated with building new campuses. The advisory boards, she said, were made up of teachers, administrators, parents and neighbors, and have been holding meetings, touring new schools, and looking at relevant data since September. 

The school board hopes to prioritize a high quality of education for all students and to recognize the rich heritage of each school in the community, said Chatwin. The hired architects provided expert opinions on the needs of each school and community, gave a review of cost estimates, accounted for projected student needs, and considered priorities like energy efficiency and modern technology.

“We want to make sure we are providing our students with the best facilities in which to learn,” Chatwin said, adding that in order to fund the new schools, voters within each school district will ultimately make the decision to use bonds to pay for the construction. School bonds are usually issued for 40-year terms and paid back through property taxes in the affected districts, according to state laws.

Making the feasibility study presentation at the February school board meeting, Paul Schulte, Executive Director of the Salt Lake City School District Auxiliary Services, showed several building site plan options for the two schools and listed costs and building timelines for each option. 

“The purpose of these feasibility studies,” Schulte said, “is to build the best instructional and educational facilities while preserving each school’s heritage and history at the lowest cost possible with the least disruption of student classrooms.” Community input is central to this. Schulte noted that, since September, nearly 50 meetings with teachers, students, administrators, and community members have been held, and the associated steering committees have met nine times.

At the February meeting, school board members expressed appreciation for the extensive work done so far but seemed reluctant to start a bond process or even pick a construction option regarding each school.

Building two new schools “will be a decision we make as a community not just as a school board,” said school board member, Lydia May.

West High School

West High School was originally built in 1921 and since that time many renovations have taken place. So much so that only a portion of the school’s front façade is original, according to historical records. The school currently has 2,553 students and also serves a middle school, said Chatwin

Since it was built, West High School has gradually become a combination of historical architecture with piecemeal updates. Photo by David Ricketts

“Our school is in constant need of upgrades and fixing things has become a problem because parts for some of the things we need fixed are no longer available and things are breaking down regularly causing more and more expense and disruption. Plus, the existing space and structure - including existing wiring and pipes - is no longer adequate to provide our students with an exceptional learning environment,” said West High School Principal Jared Wright, as to why building a new school is being considered.

To study the overall needs of current and future students at West High School, the district hired VCBO Architects to complete this analysis, provide renderings of building options, and estimate construction costs. Using all the data collected by VCBO, Schulte presented four West High School construction options at the Feb. 21 board meeting.

• Option 1: Replace the school in-place with full preservation of 1921 building, with all other buildings demolished and replaced with a 8.5-year estimated construction timeline at an estimated cost of $412,203,000 with students in portables for approximately seven years.

• Option 2: Preserve the façade of the 1921 building, demolish and rebuild west of the façade, with all other buildings demolished and replaced, with an estimated construction timeline of 8.5 years at an estimated cost of $415,329,000, and students in portables for five years.

• Option 3: Preserve the main entry of the 1921 façade, build a new school east of 300 West and demolish existing West High School buildings west of 300 West when new school is finished with a seven year estimated construction timeline at an estimated cost of $304,256,000, and no student portables needed.

• Option 4: Build a new school south of the current West High School and demolish existing West High School buildings as replacement occurs with an estimated construction timeline of 10 years at a cost of 386,470,000, and no student portables.  

West High School’s historical details have been architectural cornerstones of Salt Lake City since it was built over a century ago. Photo by Photo by David Ricketts

Schulte told the school board members that the West High School Advisory Board and VCBO recommended Option 3 to the school board, because it “preserves the historic main entry, is the most economical, has a time schedule of three years for main building construction, and has the smallest impact on students.”

Several school board members expressed concern with Option 3 because it doesn’t do enough historic preservation, a common concern among community members who have provided feedback.

Highland High School 

Highland High School was built in 1956 and has a current population of 1,915 students. According to school principal Jeremy Chatterton, the infrastructure of the school is no longer adequate.

“The reason a new building is being considered,” he said, “is because the infrastructure of our current building is not going to be able to keep up with the demands of a 21st century education, and we are committed to providing the best educational opportunities for our students. Highland has consistent water leaks and heating and cooling issues. We also have problems with cell connectivity and lack of power outlets for computer usage. Over time, the financial drain to continue to attempt upgrades on these systems will be more expensive and detrimental to the students.”

NWL Architects is the firm hired to do the assessments and site plan options for Highland High School. In a November meeting, attended by only a handful of people, the firm’s staff outlined statistics from surveys with students, teachers and the community. Survey findings indicated that stakeholders in Highland High School want a state-of-the-art school that is safe and provides a quality education; that honors longstanding history with flexible learning spaces; uses optimal natural lighting; and contains technology that will support current and future students.

After half a century, the cost of updated Highland High School is less than the cost of a complete rebuild, according to Jeremy Chatterton, the school’s principal. Photo by Sheena Wolfe

After outlining survey findings, holding meetings with stakeholders (including the established advisory board), and looking at various school models, the firm outlined three construction options all with a central entrance for safety with an open central space for students and surrounding administration and classrooms. All of the options keep all or part of the current school in place while the new school is being built, said Schulte at the January board meeting.

• Option 1: The new school will be built to the north of the existing school in two phases. It would cost between $295 million and $310 million and take 6.5 years to build with no portables needed and no loss of parking.

• Option 2: Proposes a north building site with a slightly different configuration which would call for portable classrooms for some students. It has a cost between $290 million and $305 million and will take 5.7 years to build.

• Option 3: Is situated to the south of the existing school with a price tag of between $305 million and $310 million. It will take approximately 5.75 years to build and some parking would be lost.

Schulte told the school board that the highland high school feasibility advisory board has chosen Option 1 because it has the least overall disruption to students and faculty, takes advantage of natural lighting, has loss of current school space, no loss in parking and no loss of sporting events.

More information on the respective feasibility studies is available at www.slcschools.org.