Provo School District OKs $70M in bonds to complete Timpview rebuild, new Dixon site preparations
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- Students stand inside of the newly rebuilt commons wing at Timpview High School on Friday Feb. 21, 2025.
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- Renovation work to Timpview High School in Provo is shown Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
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- A wall inside Dixon Middle School is pictured Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025.
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- A marquee for Timpview High School in Provo is pictured Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.
The Provo City School District Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to issue lease revenue bonds worth $70 million.
The money primarily will be used to cover the remainder of funding needed to complete the rebuild of Timpview High School, while a portion of it will go toward preparation plans for the future of the property where Dixon Middle School sits, though a decision on what that exactly entails is still likely months away.
City residents will endure financial impacts gradually over the next 20 years, with increases set to begin in 2026.
Property taxes on a home in Provo at the average price of $350,000 would rise to around $430.97 in 2025. In 2026, the tax debt would increase to $450.01. And by 2029, the same home would command $477.11 in property taxes.
Those figures could change pending yearly valuation rates set by the city.
Crews began work to demolish and rebuild portions of Timpview after voters approved an $80 million bond toward construction in 2020.
District officials cited the facility’s age, outdated safety codes and seismic issues among factors for the need to rebuild the campus.
Some progress in the project was highlighted Feb. 21, when students and faculty celebrated the opening of a newly rebuilt wing.
The new features include a Learning Staircase lit with blue LED lights, expanded Career and Technical Education (CTE) classrooms, spacious dance rooms, a new wrestling room and 250 additional parking spaces, the district announced on social media.
While the new wing marks a milestone for the new beginning at Timpview, the Provo school board said other areas of the school are in need of immediate attention, namely the cafeteria, which will need a full remodel, according to the district.
Noting the urgency and economic sense of completing the project within the next four years, board members also acknowledged the tax burden on residents but stressed the importance of providing safe educational facilities.
“I don’t like (raising) taxes any more than anybody else,” board member Gina Hales said. ” I hate this part of my job. But I also recognize that public education is very important. We need to educate, we need an educated constituency. We need to provide this education, and we need to provide it in safe buildings. Timpview is not safe.”
Unlike a general obligation bond, the board can green-light a lease revenue bond without voter approval, though public input was sought through various informational and prior board meetings.
“I think our community recognizes that this is (a) responsibility we have together as a community to make sure we provide those safe spaces for our students, and so I do appreciate that community support that we’ve received,” Superintendent Wendy Dau said.
The future of the former Dixon Middle School site has yet to come into view.
The board currently is reviewing the results of a feasibility study to explore what options will be best suited for the Dixon area.
“There’s still a lot more information to gather, and then we’re going to study it as a board,” member Jennifer Partridge told the Daily Herald in a phone call Wednesday. “We’re going to have our newly formed Community Connections Committee study it as well, and then decide where we go from there. But that’s going to be a process that will take time.”
