School plans exceed budget

But the district will have to say "no" to some of the plans for Orem High, Henshaw said. For instance, instead of having separate band, choir and orchestra rooms, "maybe you can have just two rooms that facilitate three programs," Henshaw said.

While the current Orem High can accommodate 1,500-1,700 students, the new Orem High will be built for 1,200-1,400 students.

On Oct. 1, Orem High counted 1,347 students.

The new school will not be overcrowded, Henshaw said, because the student enrollment is not expected to grow.

The Saratoga Springs high school will accommodate about 2,000 students.

The school district representatives did not encounter much opposition from the Orem City Council after announcing its plans to scale back.

"My question would be do you see a remodel of the old high school as a necessary and possible alternative to a rebuild?" Mayor Jerry Washburn said.

"No," Forsyth responded. "We are rebuilding Orem High because it would cost so much to seismically upgrade it."

Henshaw did not know how the district will afford other school construction and remodeling promised before the bond election.

"We've got to see," he said. "Through our budgeting process and our ability to generate capital before making decisions."

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com