•Legislative leadership (Speaker Greg Curtis and President John Valentine) deserves credit for allowing diplomacy to triumph.

Obviously, officials in Salt Lake County and west-side Jordan School District are frustrated. Yet, it was a fine bipartisan moment for the Legislature. Perhaps the Legislature should hold its next summer meeting on a house boat at Lake Powell. They may find enlightenment on other issues — or end up killing each other.

Webb: Nearly everyone — legislators, city leaders, county leaders and citizens — philosophically supports smaller school districts.

But getting there is one of the toughest public policy challenges Utah leaders have faced for a long time. This battle illustrates how important public education and property tax matters are and how emotional these issues can become.

It's a good, old-fashioned political imbroglio, pitting city against city, east side vs. west side, some cities vs. the county, the county vs. the Legislature, cities vs. school districts, Democrat vs. Democrat, Republican vs. Republican and so forth. Lawsuits will be filed, and other completely separate matters, like the Hogle Zoo bond, have somehow become entangled.

And it's certainly not over. By allowing the east side of Jordan School District to vote to create a smaller district, without resolving the very difficult funding equalization issues, the Legislature basically told west-side taxpayers: Trust us.

The tax equity matters will be dealt with in a task force, leading (hopefully) to action in the 2008 session.

I don't remember an issue involving so much complexity and so many angles and players at all levels of government. It has also been fascinating because this issue is not partisan or ideological. I watched some of the legislative debate last Wednesday live over the Internet on my office computer, and it was interesting to see Democrats like Eddie Mayne and Pat Jones clash with each other.

In fact, Republican legislators seemed happy to let the Democrats take some of the leadership on this issue and fight with each other. In this battle, everyone is looking out for their own. This is about local constituents, not partisan politics or ideology. And that gives outnumbered west-side taxpayers reason to fear. If it comes down to pure political power, the fast-growing west side, which needs numerous new school buildings, does not have the clout it needs — yet — to match the mature and built-out east side.