Judge orders Davis District to halt its boundary study

A judge in Farmington's 2nd District Court issued an order Thursday against the Davis School District that brought all discussions and decisions concerning the controversial boundary study to a halt.

The judge issued a temporary restraining order against the district on the basis that the Boundary Advisory Committee's closed meetings violated the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act.

A group of around 30 Davis parents filed suit this week claiming the district violated open meeting laws over the past couple of months while the committee ran the study behind closed doors.

"What we want in the end is for the district to be responsive and to be open and not hold these meetings in secret," said Andrea Edwards, spokeswoman for the parents group. "That is our ultimate goal — to make sure everything is out in the open and that we know how decisions were made."

The district formed the committee in early September to conduct a district-wide boundary study in connection with the opening of an eighth high school in Syracuse next fall. The committee included members from city governments, school community councils and high school community representatives.

Thousands of district parents are upset about their students having to change high schools to balance enrollments.

"The judge has made the decision — we still have a job to do and that is to open up a high school in 2007," said Chris Williams, Davis spokesman. "At this point we are waiting for direction from the Board of Education so we can move forward."

A hearing will be held Dec. 11 to determine whether the judge's order will be permanent.

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com

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