On Friday, the district sent letters informing communities that Taylor’s West Field High and West Haven’s Haven Bay Elementary have experienced significant construction obstacles. Those issues have prompted the district to prepare contingency plans for later and/or partial openings.

Meanwhile, West Haven’s Mountain View Junior High is expected to be ready for the first day of classes as originally scheduled.

Although the situations at West Field and Haven Bay are coming to a head now, mere weeks before their scheduled openings, Weber School District community relations specialist Lane Findlay told the Standard-Examiner that the challenges actually began a couple years ago.

“We had that record-breaking spring as far as moisture. And, as we were beginning to break ground and start a lot of that groundwork, we had some major water issues we had to mitigate,” Findlay said.

In the case of West Field, that process including buying additional property, and the planned drainage systems at both schools needed to be expanded.

Findlay described the development as a “blessing in disguise,” as it allowed the district to identify drainage issues before the schools were built, but the additional work that was required also eliminated much of the wiggle room the district had in its effort to complete construction by next month. Construction was further bogged down by cement shortages and supply chain issues.

The key date for students, guardians and employees at West Field is Aug. 12. According to the letter sent to that community, an inspection to “determine the timeframe to take occupancy of the school” will occur on that day.

Per the letter, if it’s determined that classes can begin by Sept. 3, a delayed start of up to eight days would allow “the needed time to complete mandated tasks, be awarded occupancy of the school by the Utah State Fire Marshal, and provide school staff adequate time to prepare for the arrival of students.”

If it’s determined that classes must be delayed beyond Sept. 3, students “will start the school year virtually/online,” beginning on that date.

The letter noted that an update on the progress relative to issues cited and a potential timeline revision following the Aug. 12 inspection would be provided by the Weber School District.

Regarding Haven Bay, the letter sent to that community indicated that the district was working to secure building occupancy by the first day of school on Aug. 21.

Planned possible adjustments for an on-time start before building completion include utilizing only “certain areas of the new building that have been completed, inspected and approved for public use,” the letter stated.

Should the start of classes be delayed slightly, the district is targeting a revised start date of Sept. 3. Should the delay be more significant (two weeks-plus), it was noted that the district “would combine the Haven Bay school community with two nearby elementary school sites for a short period of time.”

The letter stated that an email update would be provided on Aug. 7.

“We’ve got our fingers crossed, but we also need to be realistic about the possibility that they may not be ready to open,” Findlay said.

“If everything can fall into place over the next two or three weeks and the inspection goes well and there’s not any additional issues or anything that comes up and we’re able to receive that permit, then we’ll be okay.”

Voters in Weber County approved a $279 million school bond for the construction of the three new schools — plus the rebuilding and replacement of Roosevelt Elementary in Washington Terrace — in November 2021. Since then, the total cost of those projects has grown to well over $300 million.