District staff urge board to reaffirm Highland rebuild plan including ground source heat pumps; board delays formal vote

Salt Lake City School District staff on June 3 asked the school board to reaffirm previously approved plans for the Highland High rebuild that include installing ground source heat pumps under the athletic fields and investing in alternative fields at Clayton and Dilworth so the district can meet next season’s needs.

Isaac Gastel, a district staff presenter on the high school rebuild, told the board the geothermal system and field-preparation work were included in the original bond project list and the district’s sustainability action plan and that halting progress now would likely delay construction and increase costs. He asked the board to authorize moving forward with the Clayton and Dilworth investments and to approve ground source heat pumps under the Highland athletic field area as one of the two bond-scoped options.

Gastel framed the request with project history: he said the district recommended consolidating educational spaces at West High in February to preserve a…