2 Granite schools to close

The Granite Board of Education decided to close two elementary schools Tuesday during an often emotional debate on whether to cut costs by closing schools.

The board voted to keep Wasatch Junior High open, along with Hill View Elementary. Granite High School won't be closed, but it will be realigned as a non-traditional school.

The two schools that didn't escape the chopping block were Canyon Rim and Meadow Moor. The closings will save an estimated $300,000 per elementary school, board members said.

Some 350 people watched as the Granite School Board debated school closures for a second time this month. The board had earlier voted to keep all schools open but change boundaries of at least 37 of them. All the changes will take place in fall 2006.

The votes came after hearing from the public, representatives of the cities involved and state lawmakers.

Last spring, the district reported spending $3 million to maintain 8,700 empty seats valleywide. A committee of school workers and residents suggested closing several schools, nearly all on the east side, to help streamline spending, improve educational equity and keep students together as they move from elementary to high school.

Wasatch students cheered and hugged after the 5-2 vote to rebuild their school. It was an emotional vote for 15-year-old Wasatch cheerleader Ashlie Higham of West Valley City.

"It's been my dream to get to Wasatch and go to Skyline," said the teary-eyed Higham. "My dream wasn't totally demolished. It's able to come true."

Board member Julene Jolley said the $12.7 million to $13.7 million in insurance money to rebuild Wasatch could be better used to build a new school "where we desperately need it." It had been estimated that closing the school would save about $900,000 a year.

She predicted that by voting to keep the school open "we're effectively putting Churchill (Junior High) on the chopping block" in the future.

Board President Patricia Sandstrom called the unanimous vote to keep Granite open a "win-win" because the reorganization would save a total $1.4 million, according to the board — the same amount the district would have saved by closing the school.

The Granite High School plan calls for Granite High School to become a 10th- through 12th-grade school with smaller learning communities and a strong career emphasis.

Some of the new emphasis will include an integrated fine arts program, a program for English as a second language newcomers, and moving the teen parent program from Hunter to the new Granite.

Students who would normally attend Granite will either be reassigned to one of eight other high schools under new boundaries, or they'll be able to stay at Granite. Granite students will be able to participate in sports at the high school to which they're assigned.

Board members said most students at Canyon Rim will attend Morningside Elementary and some will attend Roosevelt. Meadow Moor Elementary students will attend either Twin Peaks or Hill View.

---

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com