Eastmont Staff Working On Bond Proposal

Eastmont School District staff are working on a bond proposal that would likely be on the November 8th general election ballot after direction from the school board this week.

The six-year bond would ask the community for $2.01 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

The bond would pay for all of the district's Phase 2 improvements, which include modernizing four elementary schools, additions to Eastmont High School and Sterling Junior High and a new Transportation Center.

"Eastmont has grown by almost 1,000 students up until the pandemic every ten years." said Superintendent Garn Christensen, "That's one to two schools a year."

The bond would raise an estimated $176 million, leaving the district needing to come up with another $9 million after state funding to pay for the entire suite of projects.

Board members chose a bond, which requires 60% approval from the voters, over a levy option that would require only 50% approval in part because a bond would generate more money while costing the taxpayer less.

A capital improvements levy by the district ends this year, meaning if the bond were to go into effect starting in 2023 taxpayers would not see a $2.01 difference in their assessed property value rate year over year. Instead, a taxpayer would experience a net increase of about $0.63 to their rate.

Featuring the bond proposal on the November 8th ballot would save the district considerably. It would cost the district $20,000 to add the proposal to the general election ballot, as opposed to $110,000 if it were put on a special election ballot.