Mapleton’s $7.2 Million Vote is Wednesday

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The Mapleton School District is getting ready for a big special election Wednesday.

People will be voting on a $7.2 million school bond referendum.

KVRR talked to city and school officials about the vote and the majority of people I talked to support it. But not everyone is on board.

“Our neighbors to the east will be probably the largest school district in the state and we think that means movement is heading our direction,” says Mapleton Elementary School’s Principal Tim Jacobson.

The year was 1924. The population of Mapleton was just under 200 and this three-story building was built. Fast-forward to 2015, that same building is Mapleton Elementary School.

“We just kept realizing that a 1924 building had served its purpose,” says Jacobson.

Jacobson along with other city officials are looking to build a new school for grades pre-K through eighth grade.

“I feel that the school board is taking the right initiative in pursuing a K-8 school and looking at other options if we continue to grow,” says Mapleton Mayor Eric Hillman.

Mapleton’s principal says one of the many reasons why they need a new school is because the only way to get from floor to floor is by taking the stairs.

“There are a lot of things that go on in education that are affected by your building. One of them, air quality. Our heating and cooling is not real good in this building,” says Jacobson.

But not everyone is on board. One local business owner who wouldn’t go on camera doesn’t understand how they came up with 7.2 million dollars when the district hasn’t picked a site and there are no renderings of a proposed building.

Jacobson says they are waiting to see if the measure passes before going forward with planning specifics.

“The lifeline of a town and the growth of it starts at schools and we can make this thing work,” Jacobson says.

If approved, owners of a $100,000 home will pay around $340 more per year in property taxes.

Polls are open in the school gym Wednesday from 11 to 7.