Residents urge Box Elder School Board to prioritize aging middle and elementary buildings after bond defeat

A stream of residents urged the Box Elder School District Board of Education on Tuesday to prioritize replacing aging, overcrowded middle and elementary schools rather than moving ninth grade into high schools, saying the recent bond election showed voters favored building safety and smaller elementary and middle-school populations.

At a public-comment segment that ran more than 20 minutes, speakers pressed the board to follow what they said were the bond survey results and to “stop kicking the can down the curb.” "The majority of people see the middle schools and elementary schools as the greater need," said Mary Anne Cox, speaking for a group of residents. "That is spending $70,000,000 on a want, not a need," she added, criticizing a district plan that would add classroom capacity at high schools while leaving older middle schools intact.

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