But Granite needs to be renovated, district officials have said. Anderson has said South Salt Lake is entertaining the idea of fronting city funds to help rebuild Granite High as a community center. But "unless there are programs there that serve our student community," he said, "what's the point?"

"The whole basis for the offer was . . . to make it possible for the district to keep a school in our community to serve the needs and interests of our student population." He hopes that will happen.

So why not move the new Granite High into the Central building less than a mile away? Because it only holds 400 students, Sandstrom said. The some 1,000 Central students served there, she says, come in at different times of day, allowing for the small school.

The school also was designed for alternative high school students, and would have to be remodeled to accommodate, say, an elementary school, as Sandstrom says one board member has suggested.

"I don't know what's going to happen to Central High as it becomes part of Granite. That's one of the unknowns," Sandstrom said. "I don't know what (we're) going to do with the building."

The principals of the two high schools will have to apply for the chief job at the new Granite, however, Sandstrom said. Teachers likely will move with the students, she said.

Central principal Susan Brady could not be reached by phone and did not return an e-mail message seeking comment Thursday. Granite District schools are closed until after the new year.

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com