HEBER CITY — From 2010 to 2020, Wasatch County was the fastest-growing county in the state with a staggering 47.9% growth rate.
Even after adding 11,258 residents in that period, the growth isn’t expected to ease up. Data from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute suggests Wasatch County is projected to grow to 81,022 by 2060.
With the influx of growth comes new demands on the county and its entities to ensure the area can account for future growth, perfectly encapsulated by how the Wasatch County School District is working to ensure it can effectively educate a growing student population.
It’s a good thing, too, as the Gardner Institute predicts the district will have the highest percentage of student growth (50%) in Utah over the next few decades.
“We’ll increase by 4,000 students by 2060. We currently have 7,200 students,” Paul Sweat, district superintendent, told KSL.com. “We’re very well aware of this and we have been taking actions, and we continue to take action.”
This started in 2022 with the district, along with school and community stakeholders coming together to form a facilities master plan to lay the groundwork for the district’s future.
Part of this plan includes adding a new high school as soon as possible. Currently, the district only has one high school.
“We definitely have an overcrowding problem at our high school, a severe overcrowding problem,” Sweat said, adding that the school is home to 2,600 students. “The day it opened in ’09, (it) had 1,350. So it’s doubled in size … which is incredible growth.”
The plan also included the construction of a new elementary school in five to six years and a new middle school in 10 to 15 years. Construction on the new high school, located at 1000 W. 100 South in Heber City, kicked off two months ago with an estimated opening of August 2026.