Alpine District's plan bothers some parents

HIGHLAND — Parents in the Pebblewood neighborhood of Highland want the Alpine School District to reconsider a boundary proposal that will split their children from friends during high school.

School district administrators said the comments from the Pebblewood parents were the only complaints they received Tuesday night at the first open house for proposed elementary school boundary changes that will affect 10 existing schools and three schools now under construction and slated to open next fall.

Only about 20 people attended the open house at Highland Elementary — while a snowstorm raged outside — Alpine elementary school administrator Kathy Porter said. In addition to weather contributing to low attendance, district administers believe parents whose children wouldn't have to change schools under the boundary proposals opted not to attend.

The boundary proposals have Pebblewood students attending Legacy Elementary and Highland Junior High, both in Highland. For high school, rather than Lone Peak, which is also in Highland, the students would attend American Fork High School, which would separate them from their friends, district administrator John Burton said.

The committee that drew the boundaries will consider the Pebblewood concerns and possibly tweak the boundaries, Porter said.

District administrators will present the boundary proposals to the Board of Education in January. If approved, they will go into effect in fall 2006.

The elementary schools under construction, which have yet to be named, are located near U-73 and Redwood Road in Saratoga Springs, near 3200 North and 1400 West in Lehi, and near 11800 North and 6400 West in Highland.

The three schools will absorb about 2,000 students in the northern end of Alpine School District, which will require the redrawing of existing boundaries, Burton said.

"It's just a domino effect," he said.

Still, the exact number of students who will be affected by the boundary changes remains unknown. Between 80 and 250 students will be affected at the 10 existing schools.

"The reason we haven't (calculated the number of students affected) is because it's dynamic still," assistant superintendent Gary Seastrand said.

Parent Gayle Jex of Highland looked at the maps, talked with administrators and left the open house with the belief that the proposals are an improvement from current elementary school boundaries.

"Most of the borders were natural," she said. "It seems logical."

Highland resident Missy Ashton said she wishes boundaries would also be cleaned up for high schools.

However, the boundary proposals may not be the last parents will see. The northern end of Utah County is seeing no slowdown in the construction of new houses and the arrival of young families. Saratoga Shores Elementary had an increase in 250 students this year, Seastrand said.

More boundary changes may be needed in the future, Seastrand said.

"These three schools (under construction) give us maybe a (one) year window to deal with it" then boundaries will have to be considered again, Seastrand said.

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Boundary meetings set for Lehi

Dec. 14, 6-8 p.m., Eaglecrest Elementary, 2760 N. 300 West, Lehi

Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m., Snow Springs Elementary at 850 S. 1700 West, Lehi

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com