Editors Note: This article was originally published in the Oct. 18, 2023 issue of the Chronicle Progress. Some information may be outdated.
No opposition emerges to district argument for affirmative bond vote in November
Millard School District’s board of education held a public hearing last week on its $47.5 million general obligation bond proposal.
The district is asking voters to approve the bond issuance by voting for it in November’s election—a vote no won’t stop the district from issuing higher interest bonds anyway, but a no vote will cost taxpayers roughly $4.5 million more in interest payments.
Only one person attended the hearing Thursday who was not a district employee or board member—former Millard High Principal Dennis Alldredge.
Alldredge praised the district for moving forward with plans for a virtually new high school in Fillmore, which will account for much of the bond proceeds. The remaining funds are for new classrooms at Fillmore Elementary and new space at the Delta Tech Center.
District officials originally mulled asking taxpayers to approve more than $70 million in bonds for a larger building spree.
However, in an effort to make it more palatable to voters, the district decided later to pare down the building projects.
At $47.5 million, the bonds should be tax neutral, meaning property owners won’t see their property tax bills increase as a result.
Voters will soon be receiving an information pamphlet in the mail outlining the district’s proposal and the argument for voting to approve the bonds.
“There was no formal opposing argument submitted by the public,” said Corey Holyoak, the district’s business administrator.
Typically, a ballot item includes an argument for and an argument against when it’s put before voters.
District officials previously expressed concerns voters would reject the bond proposal out of hand, namely because county property owners have recently seen their property taxes skyrocket as a result of an unrelated shift in tax burden. The school district collects the lion share of local property taxes. However, the degraded state of Millard High’s campus and the need for new space at Fillmore Elementary, forced the district to embark on the building spree, whether voters went along or not.
Officials also cited anticipated growth in the county as another reason to add more classrooms now rather than later.
During a short public comment period, Alldredge said he was excited for Fillmore and the new Millard High School and expressed wholehearted support for the bonds.
“I know we went through trying to get bonds passed. I know it’s a difficult scenario to do. But the way you’re going about this, I’m excited for the design, I’m excited for what I’m seeing and we fully support it,” he said.
The Fillmore City councilman told the board about a time when he was MHS principal. He was walking through the school’s hallways and ran into a stranger. He asked the man what he was doing and the stranger said he was the school’s original architect and he wanted to see how his work was holding up.
“His ultimate comment was, well, this was only supposed to be a 20-year building. At that time it was 30 years old. And now it’s 40 years old… it has served its purpose,” Alldredge told the board.
Superintendent David Styler thanked Alldredge for making the drive to Delta for the public hearing and showing his support.
“Mr. Alldredge has been Mr. Millard High School for a long time. We appreciate you taking the time to come over and share your thoughts,” he said during the hearing.
Commenters were given only three minutes to speak, but since Alldredge was the only member of the public at the meeting he said he decided to use everybody else’s three minutes, too.
The only other person who spoke during the meeting was Derek Dearden, the current Millard High principal. He said the project has his campus buzzing, with kids calculating in their heads whether they will graduate from the old school or the new.
“There’s a lot of excitement around it. I just appreciate all the time and effort that has gone into this. I’m 120,000 percent in support of this,” he told the board.
Before the public hearing, board members held their regular meeting as well as a work session. They discussed details of the projects and their financing.
Japheth McGee, vice president at Zions Public Finance who is handling the bond issuance, told the board rising interest rates could impact some of the district’s financing, but that new growth combined with a conservative analysis of the district’s obligations meant the project’s likely costs remained well within the district’s ability to fund it.
Styler said he was given the same impression by the construction management firm that will lead the effort.
While Fillmore Elementary will simply get a few new basic classrooms, Millard High will see a massive renovation effort, including two stories of new classrooms and labs, a large outdoor, enclosed courtyard, new media center, multiple spaces for lounging, studying and holding meetings as well as a large renovated area for technical classes, such as wood-working. New administrative offices, a counseling center, special education space and facility for kids who live in at-risk environments are all also planned.
