School districts are required by state law to ask voters for permission to sell bonds to investors in order to raise the capital dollars required for projects such as renovation to existing buildings or building a new school. If voters approve the bond referendum, they essentially give the district permission to take out a loan and pay that loan back over an extended period of time, much like a family takes out a mortgage loan for their home.

Bond funds can only be used for the construction, acquisition and renovation of school buildings, the acquisition of land and the purchase of capital equipment such as technology and school buses. Bond funds cannot be used to directly pay for most ordinary operating costs, such as salaries, supplies, utilities, etc.

The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) is a group focused on bond projects and long-range facility planning. This group met nine times to learn about district operations. These meetings included presentations and campus tours. Their work resulted in a recommendation for a proposal, totaling over $500 million in projects, which was approved by the SCUC School Board on February 12. More details are available on the district’s CAC website.

The Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) recommended a total of $295 million, divided into three separate propositions. These propositions are designed to address projects across the district, specifically focusing on general facilities, stadium renovations, and technology devices. A detailed explanation of each of these three propositions is available on the Bond 2026 Proposition overview page.

The $295 million bond proposal is not anticipated to increase the 2025-2026 tax rate.

SCUC anticipates no tax increase for the first two years of the bond program.  Even if SCUC ISD raises the I&S tax rate in the future, residents 65 years and older who apply for the Homestead Exemption will see no school tax increase as a result of the SCUC ISD bond proposal, as long as they make no significant improvements to their homesteads.

The Legislature passed a law in 2019 requiring every school bond proposition to include those six words, regardless of whether the tax rate is actually increasing. The law makes no exceptions.