The North Summit school board is partnering with a consulting firm that specializes in emergency preparedness to conduct a building assessment of North Summit High School. The move is the latest in the district’s attempts to convince community members of the need for a new high school.
Board members last week unanimously approved an agreement with IEM International, one of three companies that responded to the district’s request for proposal. North Summit Business Administrator Marci Sargent recommended IEM International over the other two companies because of its competitive price point.
Sargent said the study, which includes a full assessment of the building and a seismic analysis, would typically cost $200,000 or more. However, IEM had already obtained grant funding through the Utah Direct Technical Assistance program, which is managed by the state and focuses on supporting “disaster damage reduction, community resilience building and successful mitigation programs.”
The grant funding means the school district will not be financially responsible for the study, and Sargent estimated the partnership with IEM International is saving the district between $170,000 and $200,000.
IEM International also has experience applying for federal grants and is committed to helping the district obtain monetary assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency if possible, Sargent added.
The school board did not provide information on when the study will be completed.
The in-depth assessment of North Summit High School follows public outcry over the school board’s repeated attempts to pass a general obligation bond to fund the construction of a new school.
Voters opposed the general obligation bond in 2024 and 2025, and the school board proposed a $125 million lease revenue bond in response after the second defeat last November. The lease revenue bond had a higher interest rate than the general obligation bond, but it did not require voters’ approval.
However, North Summit residents successfully gathered enough signatures under state law to force the school board to place the lease revenue bond on the ballot in 2026. The school board instead opted to drop the lease revenue bond proposal in favor of finding another solution.
Walter Brock, one of the residents who spearheaded the petition effort, previously said his goal wasn’t necessarily to have voters shoot down the bond measure for a third time. Instead, he said he wanted to delay the issuance of funds to give the school board and North Summit residents time to explore alternatives, including obtaining bids and further analysis from third-party companies.
He said he wasn’t staunchly against the idea of a new school but that he viewed the North Summit community as wary of the board’s insistence that the only solution is an entirely new building with state-of-the-art facilities. He said residents had questions about construction costs and requested documents regarding reports that the current building is unsafe, but they were left feeling ignored.
North Summit High School was built in 1977 and hasn’t had any substantial modifications since its original construction. District officials have repeatedly said there are structural issues with the building that make the school potentially unsafe for students, especially if the area were to experience a major earthquake.