BOUNDARY DECISION, TAX INITIATIVES HEAT UP SCHOOL BOARD RACE

Sparked by the controversial high school boundary decision, races in the Salt Lake School District have generated the most interest in a school board race in years. Thirteen candidates running in the primary election for the four open seats. Two recently withdrew from the race.

Among the issues candidates face are high school boundaries and student transfers among schools, after the closing this year of South High School. Also, three statewide tax-cutting initiatives will be on the Nov. 8 ballot: rolling back the 1987 tax increase, restoring the sales, income, gasoline and cigarette taxes to 1986 levels; capping property taxes on residential property at 0.75 percent of fair market value and on other property at 1 percent; and giving a state income-tax credit to parents whose children attend private schools.PRECINCT 1

Four challengers are trying to unseat incumbent F. Keith Stepan, the board's current president. They are Tonya Covington, Michael Nemelka, Jann Harden-Warner and Tab Lynn Uno.

Precinct 1 roughly covers Salt Lake City north of South Temple and west of Third West.

F. Keith Stepan, a self-employed architect, has been on the school board for six years and its president the past two years. He has been a member of numerous educational committees, including the 1980 High School Boundary Committee, and is a former member of the Salt Lake City Planning and Zoning Commission.

He opposes the tax limitation measures, seeing them as the biggest problem facing the district. He said that if the initiatives cause Utahns to deny educational funds, then "we turn our backs on our students, ourselves and the future of our state. The myth of a 6 percent cut in the fat is a leap off a cliff."

A westside resident for 26 years, he supports the board's equity decision, saying it is vital to offer educational opportunity to every student. He opposes open enrollment now because of "the improvement that is needed educationally at West High School."

Tonya Convington, a homemaker, said she holds no degrees in education but has gained tremendous insight from working with students and teachers as a volunteer for the past five years.

She favors the tax initiatives, saying "more money is not the solution to our problems. By limitation, we force ourselves to look for new directives in saving money."

Covington says the district's biggest problem is a lack of communication among the board, administration and parents.