A school district for W.V.?

WEST VALLEY CITY — A West Valley City councilman is toying with the idea of creating a new school district, which, if drawn along city lines, could mean taking 27 city schools out of the Granite School District.

The concept is among several a group of residents, led by Councilman Joel Coleman and his wife, Kim, are kicking around in hopes of improving academic performance among West Valley students.

"I love that idea," Coleman said of the possibility of dividing the district. "The truth is that my wife and I have noticed that the West Valley City schools are the lowest-performing schools test-wise in the entire Granite District, and a third of Granite District is West Valley."

He said the idea was one of several discussed at a meeting he called last month. Residents also may gather this evening at City Hall to further the discussion, which includes possibly starting charter schools or creating a parents' group to promote family involvement in education.

But efforts to gather school communities, increase parent involvement and give locals more voice in education have been under way for years in the district, said Martin Bates, attorney and assistant to the Granite superintendent. And taking measures such as carving a west-side hole out of the district would have costs.

"Our sense is that kids would not be well served if our district split, and that's kids on both sides of the split," Bates said.

The state's second-largest school district has about 69,000 students and about 90 schools stretching across the valley. About 23,000 students and 27 schools — plus another the district just broke ground on — are in West Valley.

Coleman is concerned about those students' academic performance and wants the community to brainstorm what to do about it.

"I don't have any adversarial relationship or any bone to pick," he said. "I just want to get people involved in schools because it's pathetic how low the test scores are."

Creating a new school district is among several ideas, and one that a Utah lawmaker would support. "The real in-depth studies show . . . the lower the socioeconomic areas, the more that a small district improves what they're doing," said Rep. Dave Cox, R-Lehi, who sponsored new laws on splitting school districts and discussed the possibility at last month's meeting. "I think the main reason is because it involves the parents in the politics of the district more . . . and the very process of self-governance builds people. And when you build the parents, you build the students."