Students at Granger Elementary can look forward to coming back to a new school after their December holiday break in 2007.

Until then, the district plans on busing them to a nearby school while their new school is being constructed.

The current school at 2450 W. 3800 South will be torn down to make room for a new Costco store that will anchor the planned redevelopment of the Valley Fair Mall. A new and upgraded Granger Elementary will be built on the site of what is now Glen Weaver Park, at 3650 S. 1959 West.

Students at the year-round school will spend more than a year at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, 2825 S. 200 East, while their new school is being built. The school will be empty because Wilson students are moving Tuesday to a new school at 2500 S. State.

The former building of Woodrow Wilson Elementary will be demolished to make way for residential development after the Granger students finish using it.

The Granite District School Board overwhelmingly approved the plan Tuesday to bus Granger students to Wilson while their new school is being completed. Costco, the school district and West Valley City finally reached a deal about the move after several years of discussion.

Some parents are concerned that the temporary use of Woodrow Wilson Elementary will be inconvenient, because students will not be able to walk to school as easily.

Sonia Miranda, a member of the Granite Community Council, said she thought the move was not in the best interest of the students. She would have preferred to see the current Granger building remodeled instead.

"It's good for the school, because they're getting money, but it's not for the students, because it's going to interfere with lots of things," she said.

Hank Bertoch, school-board vice president, said that the city has agreed to pay for the busing of all Granger students to and from school, including preschoolers and students in an after-school tutoring program. The city will also provide busing to and from the school for parents during parent-teacher conferences.

Bertoch said the move may be difficult, but having a new and upgraded school will make it worthwhile.

"It's a temporary sacrifice for some significant long-term benefits," he said. "We're enhancing the tax base of West Valley City and giving a much better school to the students of Granger."

Costco also is taking several steps to make sure the transition goes smoothly. The company will pay for teachers' moving expenses and help with computer labs for the new Granger Elementary.

Construction on the new Granger Elementary building will begin within the month and should be completed by January 2008.

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E-mail: dgardiner@desnews.com