"It makes sense," Salt Lake County councilman Jeff Allen said. "It would have been the only initiative that would require a unanimous vote of all potential participants. Nothing requires that, that I'm aware of. Eighty percent is more than enough to say this is important enough to put it on the ballot."

But in addition to the voting question, west-siders are concerned about whether they'll have enough money to pay for new schools to accommodate rapid growth. The east side of both school districts has more than half the tax base.

Lawmakers were expected to debate a bill that would have all four school districts in Salt Lake County pay into a building aid fund that would be distributed based on growth and current population. But the proposal would have left only Jordan a winner and would have resulted in an $11.3 million tax hike for Salt Lake City taxpayers.

House Republican and Democratic caucuses also showed little support for the bill. Several representatives said they did not see a critical need to deal with equalizing school building needs across district lines at this time. That issue is better dealt with in the 2008 general session, said several House Republicans.

Legislators decided to set up a special task force that will meet "aggressively" — as one member put it — before legislators meet again in January's 2008 general session.

Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, said she believes that a better equalization proposal will come out of a task force study, and the delay will not hamper efforts to split the school district.

Senate leaders said statewide building equalization is something they will explore.

Senate Majority Whip Dan Eastman, R-Bountiful, will serve as the chairman of the newly formed legislative task force on the issue. Eastman, a former Davis County school board chairman, said achieving fairness in equalization is "very complicated."

Legislators also passed two other bills Wednesday regarding school district splits.

HB1004 ensures that Murray School District wouldn't automatically take over Cottonwood High School, which is situated within Murray City, if the Granite District splits. The measure would lower the minimum number of residents required in a new school district from 65,000 to 50,000, conceivably allowing more cities to form districts.

Lawmakers also approved Substitute HB1001, which allows residents of Draper's hilltop SunCrest community, which straddles Utah and Salt Lake counties, to keep their children in Alpine schools, if the Jordan District splits.

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