Granite School District reports progress on safety systems and multiple construction projects

Granite School District staff updated the school board on May construction and safety work at several campuses, reporting ongoing fire‑alarm and carbon‑monoxide detection work, auditorium sound and lighting upgrades, security improvements and large site‑work pours at two new high schools.

The district emphasized the public‑safety upgrades first: staff said carbon‑monoxide detection will be added and multiple fire‑alarm systems will be replaced this summer, including work at Brockbank and Bennion junior high schools, and at Churchill junior high. "We're including Brockbank this summer in the Brockbank remodel. While we're there, we're gonna grab that," a staff member reported to the board.

District facilities staff also outlined progress on auditorium and building upgrades. Taylorsville High auditorium house‑lighting replacement will be presented to the board for bidding; Kennedy Junior auditorium sound upgrades are complete and final tuning was scheduled for late April. Kearns Junior auditorium work was described as starting in late April and due for completion in May, and Brockbank Junior auditorium sound work is planned for June, with materials already ordered.

Work at the new and renovated high‑school sites was described in detail. For Cypress, staff said exterior athletic work — tennis courts and baseball/softball fields — is nearly complete and paving resumed when asphalt plants reopened. "I would say the paving is probably 90% at this point," the presenter said. Interior finishes reported included installed kitchen equipment, new principal and reception glazing, sick‑room showers and washer/dryer space for student needs, and retractable auditorium seating to enable multiuse space.

On Skyline, staff described the remaining items as mostly warranty or punch‑list work, with the performing‑arts wing and air handling equipment nearing completion. Facilities said three of four remaining air handlers are installed and the remaining air‑handler unit will be dismantled and reinstalled after next summer. The district reported large volumes of concrete work on site: "the site superintendent indicated we were nearly 2,000 yards of concrete over the last [period], averaging almost a month, which is about 500 yards of concrete a week," a facilities speaker told the board.

Other district‑wide systems were addressed. Public‑safety radio booster antennas are in progress at Hunter High and slated to be in place at Skyline and Cypress this year; Granger and Olympus installations are complete. Valleycrest security upgrades are ongoing; staff noted a handover anticipated in mid‑May but that some lighting delays and a principal's preference to wait until summer mean final work on itinerant spaces will finish after school ends.

Board members raised several operational questions during the updates, including a question about auditorium curtain tracks at Bennion (staff said they would check with maintenance) and a comment about exterior color choices affecting visibility at night on a separate rebranding item. Facilities staff did not request new appropriations in their update and said there were no contract changes to bring before the board at this meeting.

District staff provided photographs showing interior finishes and a drone shot of Cypress; they reminded the board that progress photos lag by several weeks. Staff declined to present any change orders or additional funding requests at this time and said remaining work will be completed under current schedules.

District contact for these projects was identified during the update as Sheldon and other facilities staff; the board did not take a formal vote on any project at this meeting.