Davis School Board hears concerns about increased enrollment
At her last meeting as a Davis School District Board of Education member on Dec. 6, Barbara Smith talks with a working group of community members and school stakeholders.
Davis School District Director of Secondary Schools David Tanner talks to a group of school stakeholders at a Board of Education meeting Dec. 6.
At his first meeting as Davis School District superintendent, Reid Newey, center, talks with community members about the district's needs at a Board of Education meeting Dec. 6.
Left to right, Davis School District Board of Education Vice President Mona Andrus, President Gordon Eckersley and newly appointed Superintendent Reid Newey sit at a meeting Dec. 6 as the Syracuse Junior High Jazz Band plays behind them.
Davis School District Superintendent Reid Newey, left, is sworn in by Business Administrator Craig Carter, right, at a Board of Education meeting Dec. 6.
SYRACUSE — Davis School District teachers, administrators and community members are concerned about having too many students and not enough teachers.
Those concerns were some of the most commonly expressed at a Board of Education meeting Tuesday, Dec. 6, at which attendees broke into groups by school and presented the board with issues they should look at in the coming years.
Cook Elementary School Principal Roger King Jr. said he has about 750 students in school and enrolled two new pupils last week and two more on Tuesday. There is the potential for hundreds more homes to be built within the school’s boundaries, he said.
“That leads to larger class sizes,” King said. “It’s one of the smaller buildings … and we’ve got 750 kids crammed in there, but we’re doing our thing. We’re doing a good job.”
West Point Junior High School Principal Jed Johansen said he has concerns with “unpredicted growth,” and Syracuse Junior High School Science Department Chairwoman Khurshid Zaidi said large class sizes are becoming a problem.
Davis, the second-largest district in Utah, has grown by 13 percent in the last decade, according to Utah State Board of Education data, reaching 71,021 students as of Oct. 1 this year.
Lakeside Elementary School Administrative Intern Sydnee Seager and Buffalo Point Elementary School Assistant Principal Mark Hyatt both said chronic absenteeism is a concern at their schools. Several other school administrators said they would like more time for teacher training and technology development.
After the work session, the board unanimously approved the $6.3 million expansion and renovation of Viewmont High School, the second phase of an ongoing project at the school. The construction includes a two-story addition to the front of the building for administrative offices and some classrooms, as well as work on parking lots.
All phases of the Viewmont project are slated to be finished in August 2018, at a total cost of $20 million, according to the district’s website.
Davis School District/Supplied
This rendering suggests what Viewmont High School will look like after all phases of its addition and renovation, which is slated for completion in August 2018.
Several ongoing building and renovation projects in the district are being funded with a $298 million bond that was passed in 2015, according to Standard-Examiner archives. A new high school is also under construction in Farmington.
The board approved hiring Hughes General Contractors to work on the district’s 17th new junior high building, which is slated for construction in spring 2017 and completion in the summer of 2019.
District Business Administrator Craig Carter said the building will be at the corner of Westside Drive and Weaver Lane in Layton and will cost between $40 million and $45 million.
The board also agreed to sell pieces of land from Syracuse elementary, junior high and high school to the Utah Department of Transportation for $460,955. District Finance Director Tim Leffel said UDOT sought to purchase the land as part of the plan to widen 2000 West in Syracuse.
Other business
Newly appointed district Superintendent of Schools Reid Newey was sworn in at the meeting. It was the last meeting for Barbara Smith, Kathie Bone and Larry Smith, who will be replaced by newly elected board members in January.
Smith served on the board for 24 years.
“I’m passionate about public education and that’s not going to change,” she said, wiping away tears.
Board member Julie Tanner also commented on an incident at Mueller Park Junior High School last week where a 15-year-old boy is suspected of entering the school and firing a shotgun round into a classroom ceiling. Tanner said she was impressed by how well community members, school officials and law enforcement worked together.
Contact education reporter Anna Burleson at aburleson@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter at @AnnagatorB or like her on Facebook at Facebook.com/BurlesonReports.