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District seeks state grant plus $5M Intermountain Health gift to build Weber Catalyst Center
Summary
Superintendent Gina Butters told the board the district will apply for a $65 million state Catalyst Campus grant (HB447) and intends to use an existing $5 million Intermountain Health gift as seed money for a proposed Weber Catalyst Center — a 40,000‑square‑foot career and technical education hub estimated at about $20 million.
Superintendent Gina Butters said the district will apply for a competitive state grant created by HB447 that sets aside $65 million for the Catalyst Campus model and that the district already has a $5 million donation from Intermountain Health to pair with the state request.
"We're calling it the Weber Catalyst Center...the grant should become available on August 1," Butters said, and presented an early cost and timeline estimate: about a 40,000 square foot, two‑story facility and a rough capital estimate near $20 million. She told the board that grant awards typically require districts to spend funds within specified windows and that the district would like to begin architectural design work soon.
Facilities director Larry Hadley said a preferred site is east of the Weber Innovation Center (WIC), with a two‑story building oriented to share parking, bus flow and pick‑up with the existing campus. He said design selection and an architect procurement in summer 2025 would be necessary to meet a potential open date in 2027 (Hadley estimated six months to design and about 18 months to build in an accelerated timeline).
Butters and Hadley described possible programs the center could host for juniors and seniors: culinary arts (commercial kitchen), cosmetology, medical pathways (CNA, medical assisting, pharmacy tech, dental assisting), construction expansions, business/entrepreneurship, and media/production. The center would operate as a district magnet for advanced CTE courses; students would continue to receive many prerequisite courses at their home high schools.
Butters asked the board to consider a June 11 request to use part of the Intermountain Health gift to pay for initial architectural work so the district can promptly prepare a competitive grant application. The board asked clarifying questions about square footage, equipment costs and how WIC programming would relate to a new center; district staff said equipment costs and FF&E were included in the estimate (Butters used a $500 per square foot figure for initial FF&E inclusion, noting staff could likely build at $430/square foot for core construction and seek grants/industry partners for expensive equipment).
No final decision was made; administration will bring a request to the board on June 11 asking permission to commit some of the Intermountain Health funds to architectural and preconstruction work to support a grant application.
