The North Summit School Board unanimously voted to create a local building authority, which will help the school district pay for construction projects. Though, so far, the only proposal being considered for funding is a new high school.District officials told the school board in August that North Summit High School’s infrastructure is failing and reinvesting in the current structure would be more costly than building a new high school. Citing safety concerns, the school board proposed a $114 million obligation bond that would be tied to property taxes.Community members immediately spoke out against the bond proposal, noting increased property taxes, inflation, poverty levels and other economic concerns. Ultimately, the bond failed in November with 56% of voters saying “no.”The school board is now considering a lease revenue bond instead, which would not need to be approved by voters. It would also have a higher interest rate of 4.04% — a $2.6 million difference from the general obligation bond that was shot down during the election.But in order to take action on a lease revenue bond, the school board needed to create a local building authority to comply with state law. Board members unanimously approved the local building authority during the Jan. 8 meeting.“It’s a public entity and an instrument of the district,” explained Marci Sargent, the district’s business administrator. “The purpose is to construct, acquire, improve, extend and finance projects on behalf of the district. … Under the statute that was put in place, the local building authority has authority to issue bonds, own, lease and mortgage property, and then the standing school board members become the board of trustees of the local building authority.”Sargent said the general obligation bond would have set a tax levy attached to property owners’ tax statements each year. A local building authority, however, is able to issue lease revenue bonds. These bonds are funded through sources other than a new tax levy, such as taxes the district is already receiving.“You don’t have to raise taxes necessarily to fund it,” Sargent said. “It’s flexible, and it can speed up the process.”Community members appeared before the board last week for public comment to voice their displeasure, asserting that voters opposed the general obligation bond and were not in favor of building a new high school.Multiple people who commented on the proposal said it felt as if the school board was disregarding voters’ wishes and proceeding with construction regardless of public opinion.The school board clarified that its support for a local building authority did not necessarily correlate with the construction of a new high school. Members said the authority is a common tool used by school districts throughout Utah to help with infrastructure projects. Further conversations about the high school and whether a lease revenue bond is needed will be held at a later date.The post North Summit School Board moves forward with local building authority appeared first on Park Record.