By Julie Slama | [email protected]

Canyons Board of Education voted April 21 to consolidate the Bell View and Edgemont communities, housing students in a new 800-student occupancy school to be constructed on the Edgemont campus.

This came after the community had 120 days to give feedback, said Canyons School District Business Manager and Chief Financial Officer Leon Wilcox.

“There were questions about the year of transition than about the new school,” Wilcox said. “Most people felt it made sense with the populations and the fact that the schools are one-half mile apart. It won’t affect bussing or walking routes, and everyone gets a new school.”

The current Edgemont Elementary was built in 1958 and Bell View, eight years later. Between the two schools, there are about 680 students.

During the 2021-2022 school year that the new 85,000-square-foot school will be built, students at Edgemont and Peruvian Park, which also will be rebuilt on its existing site, will use the former Crescent View Middle School building. Bell View students will remain in their school for the next two academic years.

Wilcox said the plan is to use Bell View’s building for Diamond Ridge and Entrada High once the new school is completed although that has yet to be presented to the Board of Education for a formal vote.

District administrators met with the Sandy City and White City mayors to discuss the new school proposal as well as shared information on school websites and at the schools.

“All the teachers will stay, but will be housed in one location,” Wilcox said about the plan, adding there will be positions in the district for every employee when the two schools are combined at 1085 S. 9800 South. “We will open the new elementary school with a new principal, new branding, mascot, colors and new name.”

The new principal will be Ridgecrest Elementary Principal Julie Winfree, who is looking forward to opening a new school.

“I think it is a really special experience to be able to be part of building a new school and to merge two communities,” she said. “We will get to set new traditions while honoring the traditions that have already been established. I have heard such wonderful things about both communities, and I am excited to get to know them. 

Already Winfree is attending bimonthly architectural meetings with MHTM Architects to ensure the new building will fit the community’s needs.

“We are starting the process of meeting with the PTA and SCCs of both schools now. We will be asking for community, staff and student input along the way,” she said.

Wilcox anticipates the construction to cost $23 million with the bidding process to begin in the winter. The school design is the same as Silver Ridge in Weber County, although it will be modified to fit the needs of this community.

“By using the same design, it saves us money and time,” he said. “There is a lot of natural light in the state-of-art school.”

Winfree also is working with both school’s PTA and SCC groups to generate ideas for the school logo and colors.

“Representatives from these groups will help us refine some concepts, which we’ll take back to the Board of Education, community, staff and students in the fall. The nice thing is that we have two schools with long histories and cherished traditions upon which to build and draw from as we look to find a name and logo that will foster a sense of community and pride,” she said. “This is really a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the community.”