Provo school board delays wall repairs at new Wasatch Elementary pending final engineering and cost estimates

Jennifer Partridge, board president of the Provo City School District, told the board that Wasatch Elementary opened in January and that the retaining wall on the school’s southwest corner began bulging this spring after a water issue. Partridge said contractors removed the damaged corner to relieve pressure and that the district has engaged multiple engineering and geotechnical firms to diagnose the problem and propose a fix. "They proposed that we have a blanket drain behind the wall," Partridge said, and the question remains "how far do we extend that."

The board’s discussion focused on completing a design and getting cost estimates before authorizing any expenditures. The district’s business administrator, Devin Daley, confirmed the board was awaiting final calculations and a formal proposal from IGES, the engineering firm that worked with the district. Board member Lisa Boyce said she would not authorize funding "until we know what they're asking us to fund" and requested clarity about design responsibilities and the district’s financial obligations.

Board members emphasized balancing prompt repair before unfavorable weather with due diligence. Gina Hales, board vice president, said, "I am in favor of extending the drain, whatever we need to do to make the school and the wall safe," and added that the board must also be "safeguarding the taxpayer money that we are in charge of." Several board members, including Meg Van Wagonen and Melanie Hall, expressed impatience with the pace but agreed they preferred to wait for verified engineering numbers rather than rush a reconstruction that might not address the root cause. Hall proposed an interim $300,000 start payment, but other members said they preferred to wait for full design and cost details.

After discussion, Board member Lisa Boyce moved to table approval of expenditures for the Wasatch Elementary wall "until we have both a design for that wall that has been checked by our independent geotechnical contractor as well as the cost of that wall." The motion was seconded by Carrie McCabe and passed unanimously. The board said it will revisit the item at its regularly scheduled meeting next Tuesday when the district expects to have the engineering calculations and final cost proposals for review.

The board distinguished discussion from action throughout: engineers and contractors are still completing analysis (discussion), the board directed staff to obtain and circulate final design and cost estimates to independent reviewers (direction), and the only formal action was the unanimous vote to table funding approval pending that information (decision).