Two years to the day since West Lake STEM Junior High was damaged in an earthquake, students and officials gathered Friday to break ground at the site of the new school.\n
If there was a silver lining to last year s 5.7 magnitude earthquake, it s that in-person learning had been suspended in schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deseret News
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Steve Griffin, Deseret News
If there was a silver lining to 5.7 magnitude earthquake that rocked the Wasatch Front on March 18, 2020, it’s that in-person learning had been suspended in schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving buildings empty so that no injuries occurred.
But the quake had significant financial impacts, especially where older schools had not been modified to survive a significant temblor.
The earthquake caused substantial damage to West Lake STEM Junior High in West Valley City, which was later deemed “a complete loss,” according to the March 2021 Wasatch Front Unreinforced Masonry Reduction Strategy report. The Granite Board of Education recently accepted a $37.4 million insurance settlement to repair the school.