In a special meeting Wednesday, the Duchesne County School Board voted to move forward with plans to replace Altamont High and add a sixth-grade wing to Roosevelt Junior High.

The vote on Altamont was unanimous, but the earlier motion on expanding the junior high came down to a 3-2 vote, with Gordon Moon, Kim Harding and John Hullinger in the majority and board president Nancy West and Doug Swasey dissenting.

Swasey, who represents the Altamont area, had wanted both projects to be included in the same motion. Though he supports the expansion of the junior high, he wanted to ensure that the Altamont issue was settled before voting on the RJHS plan.

West argued for building a new elementary school in Roosevelt as a more direct way of alleviating overcrowded conditions at East Elementary. She mentioned the concerns of teachers and others in the community who believe a new school must be built sooner rather than later as a way to address recent and future growth.

But Moon, citing his own analysis of projected future enrollment, and Harding, preferring a less-expensive route, said they were not convinced that there will be enough students to fill a new elementary school built in the next couple of years.

The new wing at RJHS is expected to cost between $5 million and $6 million. Replacing Altamont carries a much larger price tag — estimates last fall put the project at $18 million. But the school district may be able to shave $1 million to $2 million by keeping the school's gymnasium and auditorium, board members said. The cost of a new elementary school was estimated at $14 million.

Adding sixth-graders to the junior high school will “open the door” for new grade configurations at other schools that will alleviate overcrowding at East Elementary, Superintendent John Aland said after the board voted. Those configurations have yet to be decided, but there is talk of either moving third-graders from East Elementary to Roosevelt Middle School, or turning both of those schools into K-5 facilities.

The district has saved $8 million for capital projects. The district plans to apply for low-interest loans to raise the extra money needed for its short-term building and repair plans.

Harding pushed hard for the sixth-grade addition to RJHS, saying if the district acts fast the expansion could be completed in time for the 2011-12 school year. He noted, however, that many parents and others are worried about putting sixth-graders in a social environment with seventh- and eighth-graders. Aland said social integration issues can be worked out by the school's administrators and community council, and that he is familiar with other schools that have a successful configuration of sixth-through-eighth grades.

Early in the meeting, which was packed with teachers, district officials and concerned parents, the board voted to hire Provo architect Kevin Madson to work on designs on much-needed repairs at Union High School and Altamont Elementary. Union needs a new roof, renovations to its math building, a boiler replacement and repairs to heating-control systems. Altamont Elementary needs a boiler replacement. The price tag on those repairs is estimated at slightly over $1 million.

The school district will now proceed with advertisements for an architect on the Altamont High and Roosevelt Junior High projects. A decision at the board's April meeting is likely.

Last fall, the board had a $69 million plan to replace Altamont and Union high schools and build a new elementary in Roosevelt. A countywide bond-issue proposal, connected to a property tax increase, was shot down by voters on Nov. 3, leading the district and board members to move in a new direction that didn't involve voter approval.