Murray Superintendent Richard Tranter has said his district would likely need those elementaries to accommodate enrollment. But Cottonwood High's enrollment would drop from 1,400 to 629 in the district split — including 323 students who attend on special permits — because the west-siders wouldn't be there, according to a Granite District analysis.

Tranter has said that in that event, Cottonwood High could close, be sold, leased, or used to house Murray's Hillcrest Junior High, which needs to be rebuilt. The Academy for Math, Engineering & Science charter school, now housed at Cottonwood, also might need to find a new home. And Murray High would need an addition to house 350 new students.

But why should that fate befall Cottonwood, wonder supporters, who call the school one of Utah's showcase campuses?

"What is hard, I think, for us to swallow is this concept that the small school district movement began as a way to protect neighborhood schools, but it's not protecting Cottonwood," said Haglund, a member of the Cottonwood High Community Council.

Also at issue for the Cottonwood group is who gets to vote.

The law allows only those living in the proposed new district's boundary to vote on a district split. Several west-side mayors in Granite and Jordan District, where another district split proposal is under way, say that violates constitutional one man, one vote guarantees. In Cottonwood's case, parents of some students attending the school wouldn't get a chance to vote because they live in the west.

Another concern is what would happen to students' education and choices as school choice could be whittled to Olympus or Skyline high schools instead of the eight schools to choose from in the larger district, Palmer said.

"I hope the County Council would be wise enough to vote against putting this on the ballot at this time. ... I think it's important enough that we have a better plan."

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Contributing: Amelia Nielson-Stowell

E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com