The Duchesne County School District's $49 million bond-issue proposal has picked up an endorsement from the Utah Taxpayers Association, a watchdog group that carefully studies taxpayer issues, school officials said.

Announcement of the endorsement came during the School Board's Oct. 8 meeting in Altamont, which was attended by more than 150 people seeking information about the plan to build three new schools in the county, including a new $18 million high school in Altamont.

School officials said they were happy to win the endorsement, as the association tends to take a critical view of raising taxes for public projects.

The board also voted to officially place the countywide referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot. The $49 million raised through the bond issue – to be paid off by an increase in property taxes – would be combined with another $20 million for an overall $69 million building project. A new $11 million elementary school in Roosevelt and a $40 million campus for Union High School also are part of the plan.

Other bits of information about the bond proposal emerged at the meeting:

• Of the three schools, construction of the new elementary school would come first, starting in 2010, because of rapid enrollment growth at East Elementary. The new school would complement East Elementary. The elementary school will be built regardless of whether voters approve the tax increase and bond issue request.

• The district plans to mail out a brochure to voters that outlines details about the building plan and bond issue. It addresses the idea of “consolidation,” the merging of certain schools within the county, saying that “consolidation does not result in lower operational costs.” It also states that the proposed tax increase, estimated to be $65 annually on a home valued at $113,217 (the average home value in the county), would not take place until 2014.

• Another case for building new high schools is that both Altamont and Union, both six-decades old, have failed to pass seismic earthquake testing standards. Each school would require major upgrades in order to become compliant.

School Board and audience members listened to short presentations from John Huitt and Dave Brotherson, the principals of Altamont and Union. They mainly talked about the crumbling physical conditions of their schools and ongoing problems with boilers used in heating systems.

That point was echoed by Lane Warenski, the district's controls technician who deals with heating and cooling systems. He compared the maintenance involved with systems at some of the district's schools to “keeping a 1955 car on the road” in the 21st century. “Too many of these systems are just beyond repair,” he said.

Because of the location of the meeting, most audience members expressed support for the Nov. 3 ballot item, applauding and cheering during certain times when points were made in favor of the bond issue.

There were a few in the crowd who gave dissenting opinions.

Ray Grant of Roosevelt said he wonders if the district, and the taxpayers, can afford the projects and absorb the tax increase.

“I don't think there's many people around the county that think that we don't need new schools,” he said. “I look at it from a different view. I'm wondering if we can afford all of the schools that we're doing in the bond.”

He said by his calculations, the district will spend $72,000 per student for a new Altamont High.

“We're starting to sound a lot like the (federal) government, just spend, spend, spend, and we can pay it back later,” Grant said.

Conley Moon, an agriculture teacher at Duchesne High School, said he envisions merging Duchesne and Altamont high schools in a new facility in the area of Blue Bench. The different campuses in each city make it hard for people across the county to bond together, he said.

Wouldn't it be great, Moon asked, if sports fans from Duchesne could sit on the same side of a football field as Altamont residents and cheer for the same team?

School officials brushed back many of the negative comments, saying the consolidation issue had been debated several times over the years. They also pointed to a favorable construction climate and said that with low costs and low interest rates, the time is right to embark on building projects.

School Board member Kim Harding said he looks at the issue as a businessman as well.

“I'm afraid that if I don't pay now, I'm going to pay more later,” he said.