The school board has placed a $114 million bond on the ballot to fund a new school building and aquatic facilities near the rock ledges on Coalville’s north side.

It needed a simple majority to pass on Tuesday. After the first 1,400 votes were counted on election night, 56% of voters answered “no”.

Board member Waylon Bond said the district has not decided on next steps.

“We know it’s necessary, so our options are either to wait and do it again next fall, or… I’m not sure exactly what the next course of action would be,” he told KPCW after the election.

For residents, a $114 million bond equates to $118 per year for every $100,000 of property value. For businesses, it’s $215 per year per $100,000 of value.

The deposit would be refunded after 21 years.

At an Aug. 15 meeting, Superintendent Jerre Holmes explained that creating a high school wasn’t so much about having something nicer as it was about having something “safer and more efficient.”

North Summit School District

School board members consulted with architects who raised safety concerns about the current high school. They point to an aging utility infrastructure and a setup with security vulnerabilities.

But at the October school board meeting, resident Keith Rickett argued the proposal was simply too big.

“I think what you’re looking for in a $100 million-plus bond is frankly disproportionate to the population that’s here right now,” he told board members.

Growth can still come. A city-sized development is under consideration in Hoytsville, and the Red Hills subdivision is already approved between Hoystville and Coalville.

The Wasatch County School Board faced the same issue as North Summit in 2019. Voters rejected $150 million bail for a new high school. Three years later, the Wasatch County Board of Supervisors decided to issue it without putting it on the ballot.

Election results are preliminary until certified by local polling boards weeks after the election. As of Wednesday morning, Summit County clerks had counted half of the ballots received.

Officials in Summit and Wasatch counties have not yet announced when the results will be certified.

Click here for the latest Summit County election results.