The Capital Funding Protection Committee (CFPC) voted 8-1 to fund three schools; one elementary school in the South Meadows area, and two middle schools, one in Sun Valley, and one in Spanish Springs. the Committee approved 200 million dollars for the schools, a much higher cost than what was estimated in WC-1 last November. The estimate for a middle school at that point was $55 million.

Many people were concerned about the cost during public comment, and even some committee members were concerned about how much higher the costs were. The committee approved $85 million for the Sun Valley middle school, and $80.6 million for the Spanish Springs middle school.

While costs are high, WCSD Chief Operating Officer Pete Etchart believes that the need is so high, there's no time to wait.

Unlike other public agencies who have canceled projects based on cost," Etchart said. "I don't believe we really have that luxury here, because we have students and a community that need schools."

Etchart said that costs of construction have gone up since 2008, with a spike in recent years. They don't have the time to wait for those costs to come down, and there could be added costs in the future, including land.

"As we become more of an urban area," Etchart said. "We're just going to have to realize that it's going to be harder and harder to find good, developable land."

The board wanted more information detailing the costs of the construction, so the WCSD Board of Trustees will receive a detailed report when they meet on October 10th. If the Board of Trustees votes to approve the plan that day and everything stays on schedule, the schools will open August 2019.