Board updates CT high school planning; district seeks partners, expects bond timeline to shift
Summary
District staff described steady progress on a planned career-technical (CT) high school and growing buy-in from partners including Dixie Technical College and Dixie State University; officials said a CT campus could delay the need for a new comprehensive high school and thus affect the timing and scale of any future bond.
District leaders told the board on May 8 that planning for a career-technical (CT) high school and partnership with Dixie Technical College and Dixie State University is moving forward and is likely to affect future bond timing and program delivery.
Staff said business, public-safety and technical pathways have strong local employer interest. The district is working with Dixie Tech, Dixie College and other partners to define which programs would be sited at the CT high school and which would remain at existing schools. Board members emphasized that the district intends the CT campus to be a partnership — not a duplicate of existing postsecondary offerings — and staff said Dixie Tech and Dixie College leadership have become supportive during recent meetings.
District officials said placing some specialized senior-year programming on the CT campus could postpone the need for an additional comprehensive high school in the near term, potentially reducing bond costs or delaying a future bond. Staff said the CT plan could push the next comprehensive high-school bond out by several years depending on enrollment and program scale.
No final site or funding approvals were made at the working session. Staff said they will continue work with partners and produce public-facing materials (e.g., a short explainer video) to explain the CT model and how it complements rather than duplicates Dixie Tech offerings.
