Tooele County School District now has property for a new junior high school in the north end of Tooele Valley.
The school board approved a $1.7 million purchase agreement for 19 acres of land on Bates Canyon Road south of Stansbury High School at its Tuesday meeting.
“We aren’t going to build a new junior high school right away,” said district superintendent Scott Rogers. “We still have some room to grow in our current junior high schools, but our long-range plan calls for a new junior high in the area in about eight years.”
Construction of the new junior high may begin sooner or later than eight years, depending on growth in the area, he said.
“This allows us to have a large enough piece of property in the area for a junior high before developers come in and buy up all the prime property,” Rogers said. “We’re trying to think ahead.”
The sale price for the 19 acres, along with 30 acre-feet of water rights, is $2 million; however, the seller will donate 18 acre-feet of water for a $180,000 value and developer Joe White will kick in 11 acre-feet of water at a value of $110,000. That leaves the school district paying a cash price of $1.7 million for 19 acres and one acre-foot of water.
The seller is Flying U Ranch, which lists Charles Warr as the registered agent, according to the Utah Department of Commerce.
The purchase agreement calls for the seller to lease the land back for agricultural use at $570 per year until the district builds a school on the property.
The purchase agreement also gives the seller the first right of refusal to purchase the property at fair market value if the school district decides not to build a school there.
In February, the school district acquired 56 acres in Overlake for a future high school.
The funds to buy the property were included in the general obligation bond passed by voters last November.
The $49 million bond included $33 million to build two elementary schools and $4 million to acquire property for future secondary schools.
The bond also included $7 million for increased capacity at Tooele Junior High School and $5 million for technology and wireless upgrades at several schools, a new outdoor track at Tooele High School and a weight room for Grantsville High School.