Timpanogos Elementary Relocation: Understanding the Decision
Recently, some community members have raised questions about relocating Timpanogos Elementary to the former Dixon Middle School site, particularly as declining enrollment at some schools prompts discussions about possible consolidation. These are reasonable questions. The Board of Education and district leadership team must consider both the responsible use of public funds and the learning environments students need.
Our goal is to explain the reasons for the relocation, the thorough process that led to the decision, community input that informed us, and how the project fits into the district’s broader planning. We hope that the Provo community will recognize the care and thoughtful consideration that went into this decision.
Background: How did we get here?
The discussion began in spring 2024, as Dixon Middle School prepared to close and students anticipated moving to Shoreline Middle School that August. District leadership and the Board of Education held four community meetings to discuss two questions: how to address additional building problems identified during the Timpview High School rebuild, and how to use the Dixon property. A postcard was mailed to every Provo household inviting residents to attend.
These meetings took place at Centennial Middle School on May 1, Dixon Middle School on May 6, Timpview High School on May 15, and Provo High School on May 16, 2024.
The district presented several possibilities for the Dixon site, including an elementary school, a dual language immersion magnet school, a career and technical education center, space for district programs, and district offices. Community members also suggested a park or selling the property. Feedback gathered through meetings, conversations, emails, and 637 community survey responses supported keeping a school on the site.
The financial discussions initially included the possibility of two Municipal Building Authority bonds to support the Timpview and Dixon projects. The district’s business administrator explained how payments could be structured to limit the annual impact on taxpayers.
As we explored options for the Dixon site further, we also examined several limitations of the nearby Timpanogos Elementary site:
Instructional and program needs: Because Timpanogos uses all of its classrooms for grade level instruction, it needs additional spaces for intervention groups, music, art, and other instructional activities. We built other schools with these intervention spaces in mind, and for our older schools we use empty classrooms to provide this instruction. The needs of Timpanogos also require spaces for social workers, school psychologists, and behavior specialists to work with small groups of students. Currently, these spaces do not exist, which is why these small instructional groups are being held in cramped spaces not designed for students.
Student safety and traffic flow. The small parking lot creates challenges during arrival and dismissal. The school’s proximity to 500 West also presents concerns, particularly when a student unexpectedly leaves supervised areas. The Dixon site offers opportunities for better vehicle circulation and greater separation between student activity areas and busy streets. We acknowledge that students who cross 500 West would still need to do so, but the very entrance of the school would be off of a busy road and not near a bus stop.
Limited outdoor space. Timpanogos occupies just five acres and serves approximately 600 students. It is our smallest school site and one of our largest populations. Its limited playground, field, and paved play areas complicate recess and lunch scheduling and restrict opportunities for students to play safely. It is the smallest elementary school site, and you can view these parcel maps at https://maps.utahcounty.gov/parcelmap/parcelmap.html. It is important to note that our elementary schools typically do not sit on a single parcel; there are several parcels that make up these schools and it is the total amount of parcels that is used to determine the acreage of our schools. The Dixon site is 8.25 acres, which is similar in size to Rock Canyon and Provo Peaks.
Expanding the existing building would require using more of an already constrained site, further reducing outdoor space or limiting opportunities to improve parking and traffic flow. Relocation offers a way to address these needs together.
Families and community members expressed support for relocating Timpanogos through comments at board meetings and emails to the Board from the spring of 2025 through the fall of 2025 when a final decision was made to move the school. The move also offered a second benefit: the existing Timpanogos building can house district programs currently operating in leased or limited spaces and other offsite locations, including transition services for young adults with disabilities, CAPS, Adult Education, and English as a Second Language programs. It is a benefit for these programs to be on a major road as bus access becomes important for students in these programs. While no decisions have been finalized, we are examining carefully the opportunity to save taxpayer dollars on these leased spaces while providing an adequate permanent home for these programs.
As planning progressed, the business administrator identified approximately $20 million in building reserves, along with other available funding sources, that could support the project. Based on that analysis, a second Municipal Building Authority bond was considered unlikely to be necessary.
Although some elementary schools have experienced declining enrollment, Timpanogos continues to serve approximately 600 students and has additional demand for its dual language immersion program. Suggestions to transfer some students to lower-enrolled schools must therefore be considered alongside their effects on transportation, neighborhood continuity, program access, and staffing. We are evaluating our Dual Language Immersion programs, but it seems unlikely, with the demand for Spanish and the benefits that the Timpanogos model provides to its multilingual learners, that the program would be eliminated from this elementary school. The demand is high enough that students are turned away from the program, and the sentiments expressed by the DLI & Boundary Study Parent Committee favor DLI at Timpanogos and even possibly expanding the model to other Title 1 schools.
The decision to relocate Timpanogos grew out of these connected considerations: community input about the Dixon property, the limitations of the current elementary site, opportunities to improve facilities for other district programs, and the available funding. The district’s responsibility to address declining enrollment elsewhere continues alongside that decision.
Why is this decision a sound one?
Board members and district leaders believe relocating Timpanogos Elementary is a responsible investment in students and the district’s long-term needs. The decision addresses limitations at the current site, preserves a neighborhood school community, and creates opportunities to improve facilities for programs serving students and families throughout Provo.
It provides a better learning environment for students.
The Dixon site allows the district to plan for safer arrival and dismissal, adequate outdoor play areas, and appropriate space for classroom instruction, interventions, social and emotional supports, and specialty programs. These improvements would support approximately 600 elementary students each year and serve future generations for decades.
It supports educational opportunity and neighborhood continuity.
Relocating Timpanogos keeps its neighborhood community together while providing sufficient space to accommodate the small group instruction that is an important aspect of supporting individual student academic achievement. It also allows us to have the space needed for a successful dual language immersion program which includes DLI and traditional classrooms. These opportunities matter when considering how facilities can best support students’ learning.
It gives the existing Timpanogos building a valuable new purpose.
The current building can continue serving students even though its site presents limitations for a large elementary school. While final decisions have not been made, the board has discussed repurposing the existing building to provide a central location for several district programs such as:
Transition services for young adults with disabilities: A school setting would provide space for instruction and independent living skills. Our students, parents, and program directors are excited about the possibility of being relocated to this site because of the opportunities it will provide. Proximity to public transportation would support students learning to navigate the community.
CAPS: Dedicated space would better accommodate high school students in a program that has operated with facility limitations.
Adult Education and English as a Second Language: A central location near public transportation would improve access for adult learners and families.
Support departments: Bring district support departments that are currently located in out buildings at Hillside or Grandview to a central location, potentially freeing up property for sale.
Bringing these programs into a district-owned facility offers an opportunity to address needs that extend well beyond the Timpanogos neighborhood. These programs could be accommodated without major renovations to the current Timpanogos building.
It uses existing resources to address long-term needs.
The district’s current funding plan draws on approved financing and available building reserves, with the expectation that a second Municipal Building Authority bond WOULD NOT be necessary. The district is in the process of securing a real estate consultant to assist us with assessing our current properties and their values to achieve our educational and financial goals. Repurposing the current school also preserves the value of an existing public asset. Renovation costs, ongoing operating expenses, and any additional program uses must remain part of the district’s financial planning.
It allows the district to address enrollment challenges while creating greater equity for the Timpanogos population.
Timpanogos has relatively stable enrollment. Even if boundaries were changed and students at the current building site were sent to other district schools, it would not boost the numbers of these other schools significantly enough to avoid a possible school closure in the future. Keeping DLI at Timpanogos without four classes per grade would recreate inefficiencies seen at other DLI schools and limit educational opportunities for non-DLI students. Meanwhile, demand for Spanish DLI exceeds capacity at Timpanogos, where more than 60% of students are Hispanic. Although busing students to another Spanish DLI school may appear practical, it would divide a neighborhood community and distance students from the relationships and support that strengthen their school experience.
Declining enrollment at other schools warrants continued examination of boundaries, programs, and possible consolidations. Those decisions must account for available capacity, operating costs, transportation, and the effects on students and school communities. Moving Timpanogos forward does not resolve those questions or diminish their importance.
Why not pause the project?
We are moving forward because the relocation addresses safety, space, and educational needs at Timpanogos Elementary while creating opportunities to better serve students and families through the reuse of its current building. Those needs remain relevant as the district evaluates enrollment and potential school consolidations.
In October 2025, the Board approved relocating Timpanogos Elementary to the Dixon site and repurposing the existing building for district programs currently housed in separate or leased facilities. The new school will replace the current Timpanogos Elementary; it will not increase the number of elementary schools in the district.
A $70 million Municipal Building Authority Bond was approved to fund the rest of the Timpview High rebuild and a portion of this bond was designated for the design and planning of the new elementary school. Through a competitive selection process that followed all state laws and state and district policies, the district selected Core Architecture and Westland Construction and signed contracts for their services.
During a subsequent discussion about possible school consolidations, two board members requested consideration of a pause. The other five members did not support placing that proposal on a future agenda, and the project moved forward with the board voting to approve the construction manager/general contractor (CMGC) that evening.
Pausing at this stage would create additional costs associated with contractual commitments, project delays, and restarting work if the district ultimately proceeds. Contracts have been signed, plans are underway, and significant work has already been done. Backing out now would cost the district money and undermine our credibility, which would not be fiscally or otherwise responsible. These potential consequences must be weighed against any anticipated benefit of a pause, along with the effect of delaying improvements for students.
We are responsible for both students’ educational needs and the careful use of taxpayer dollars. This decision reflects community input gathered since 2024 and a plan to put two district properties to productive educational use. As the work continues, the district will continue to communicate costs, progress, and remaining decisions, recognizing that all Provo residents have a stake in the outcome. But in the end, the students of Provo City School District will be at the center of all that we do.
The district will continue evaluating enrollment, program costs, and possible consolidations. Moving forward with Timpanogos does not remove our responsibility to address those broader challenges. We are moving forward with the relocation to give Timpanogos Elementary a safer, more appropriate space that can better meet students’ educational needs, while reusing the current building to support students and families districtwide.
