S.L. SCHOOL BOARD IS UPHELD ON BOUNDARIES

The legal challenge to the new Salt Lake high school boundaries is over.

Third District Judge Scott Daniels ruled Thursday afternoon that the Salt Lake Board of Education acted within its legal authority in establishing boundaries to achieve three equal high schools.Friday a spokeswoman for the fund-raising group behind the lawsuit, Citizens for Better Schools, said the group does not plan an appeal.

"It's been terribly expensive. I think we'll leave it where it is," said Arla Funk, a member of the organization's board of governors.

In his decision, Daniels said school board has the authority to "do what is `necessary' to promote education.

"The court must sustain the action of the board if under any reasonable view the function in question can be considered `necessary,' " the ruling said.

"The balancing of the student body along social, racial and economic lines can be defended as a legitimate part of the education process.

"Certainly the board may believe that students get a better educational experience in such an environment," Daniels said. "Plaintiffs and many others may disagree, but their remedy is at the ballot box, not in the courts."