From Deseret News archives:
Riverton is losing allies in split fight
As a high school junior, a teenage Applegarth and his group of friends decided they would all go to the prom. Realizing he didn't have a suit and that he couldn't wait until the last minute to find one that fit his then-lanky 6-foot-4, 165-pound frame, he bought one early.
"Then all my friends backed out on me," Applegarth said. "I didn't wear that suit until my senior prom."
The Riverton mayor shared that story during Tuesday night's City Council meeting to describe his feelings about the faltering coalition of west-side cities that had been poised to challenge the constitutionality of a law that allows cities to break away from existing school districts and form smaller ones.
Applegarth contends that the new state law is unconstitutional because a city or group of cities can split from a school district without a vote of the entire district. And that, the mayor said, violates the 14th Amendment's guarantee of one man, one vote.
Significant property-tax increases would be needed for construction costs alone. Operating and maintaining the schools and attempting to provide the same quality of education and class options as the existing Jordan School District likely would require additional tax hikes, city leaders said.
Riverton is hoping to stop that domino effect with a legal challenge of the law, but elected leaders aren't sure the city can shoulder the financial burden of a lawsuit alone. Originally, a coalition of six west-side cities Riverton, South Jordan, West Jordan, Herriman, Taylorsville and Bluffdale had expressed interest in splitting costs of the legal challenge.
West Jordan drifted away from that group in recent months as it began exploring the idea of forming its own school district. The West Jordan City Council voted Tuesday night to put the split on the ballot in November.
Action by the state Legislature during a special session last week taking the Salt Lake County Council's say on a Jordan split out of the equation and lowering the the minimum population required for a new school district from 65,000 to 50,000 further fractured the west-side alliance.
"The Legislature kind of split our ranks," said Taylorsville Mayor Russ Wall.
Recent comments
In California, developers often pay to build the new schools that...
A parent | Aug. 30, 2007 at 10:17 p.m.
Let's put a few things straight:
West side farmers WERE
paying...
We are insane | Aug. 30, 2007 at 9:06 p.m.
A couple observations:
It would be better for students overall if...
Ted | Aug. 30, 2007 at 3:21 p.m.
- UNLV earns ranking before BYU 9:11 p.m.
- Utes prepare to go bowling 9:08 p.m.
- 'Mr. Hyphen' takes aim at stereotypes 9:07 p.m.
- Studies: Gambling addiction is illness 9:06 p.m.
- Utah business indicators rose 9:04 p.m.
- Electronics sales soar; clothing slips 9:04 p.m.
- GM's Henderson resigns as CEO 9:02 p.m.
- GE returns to its roots 9:01 p.m.
- FDA issues warning to Tyson in Texas 9:00 p.m.
- Institute extends deadline for entries 9:00 p.m.
- 2 citations issued at Y.-U. game
- BYU says Hall incident resolved
- Max Hall: a fixture in rivalry lore
- 'Grandfamilies' a growing trend
- Witness: Mitchell wanted attention
- Mitchell called intelligent, controlling
- MWC '09 season in review
- Jazz win 6th in 7 games
- Jazz ready to be without Harpring
- Daughter: Mitchell fed me my pet
- Hall mouths off about hate of Utah
903 - Cougars beat Utes in overtime
482 - Hall reprimanded by MWC
401 - Max Hall issues apology
387 - Hall's pain reflects self-betrayal
344 - Utes won't respond to Hall
274 - BYU says Hall incident resolved
232 - 2 citations issued at Y.-U. game
157 - BYU is champion of the state
143 - Religion in politics is tiresome
128
My husband was teaching his 6th-grade class in Salt Lake last year when...
good to know that obama voted against the war we're winning (iraq) and voted...
Some people can lift themselves up by their own bootstraps, others have no...
Thank you Scott for sending the story. I will share this with the rest of...
This is an unfortunate situation. No one wins. Many lives changed and lessons...
When Sloan retires, you could put Matt in his place on the bench with not...
I knew these officers personally, wonderful people!!
Why does it matter what others say? Why do you even listen to them? If...
Whatever Max Hall said about the U of U, it will haunt him for a long time...
The aggies are out in the cold and you hate the only two football teams in...
This article isn't accurate. It says COBRA would go away under health care...
