Wasatch students likely to stay together

Wasatch Junior High students, teachers and staff, displaced when fire ravaged their school this week, probably will stay together rather than be split among several schools, Granite School District Superintendent Steve Ronnenkamp said.

"Those are driving principles for us: To preserve and keep intact the integrity of that school," Ronnenkamp said Tuesday. "To split up kids violates (that). . . . I think that would be our very last option."

District officials are exploring double sessions, available space and portable classrooms as potential ways to keep together the school's 900 students, Ronnenkamp said. The Granite Board of Education is expected to weigh recommendations next Tuesday.

"We're looking outside the box," Ronnenkamp said. "We're looking at every single option."

Monday's six-alarm fire, attributed to an electrical problem with the main computer server, destroyed much of the east-bench school near Skyline High.

Insurance adjusters were assessing damages Tuesday afternoon, and the school was boarded up and a perimeter established to keep people from going inside until the area is deemed safe, district spokeswoman Michele Bartmess said.

Amid the charred remains appear to be some salvageable materials in areas including the main office, the shop and some classrooms, Bartmess said.

District bosses met with principals of east bench schools Tuesday to discuss next steps.

Discussions did not include whether Wasatch will be rebuilt, Ronnenkamp said. Nor did they touch on how the events might fit into the district's building study, which could include closing schools, boundary changes, or shifting around which grades go into what schools to increase efficiency.

The district has 8,700 empty seats, many in east-side schools, costing taxpayers $3 million a year to sustain.

"Nobody's even gone down that road," Ronnenkamp said. "Our focus, quite frankly . . . is looking at what do we do for this next year."

Meanwhile, the Wasatch community is banding together.

Teachers and workers will gather this morning to hear the latest from district officials, express their concerns and set up a way to communicate, said Granite Education Association President and former Skyline teacher Jay Blain. The union also hopes to link Wasatch teachers with others to share educational materials and experience with other school fires to "give them some hope.