Pleasant Grove to study split

PLEASANT GROVE — The Pleasant Grove City Council on Tuesday voted to join with Orem in a feasibility study to look into a possible split from the Alpine School District.

The council voted unanimously to authorize Mayor Mike Daniels to sign an agreement with Orem to help fund the districtwide study.

Alpine is the fourth-largest district in the state, and the communities are concerned that caring for the needs of nearly 55,000 students is too much for one district.

"We ought to consider this as a service to students within our city," said City Administrator Frank Mills. "This is the best way to decide whether we should stay in the district or if we can do better for our students."

The feasibility study is an option allocated to large cities. The official decision on whether to separate from the district must then be left up to voters.

Council members said that while it would be a big decision to break away from Alpine, it is a worthwhile effort to at least investigate the possibility. Lindon also has joined with Orem to help fund the project.

Mills said the study is expected to be completed in time for voters to make an informed decision on the issue in November's elections.

At a City Council meeting in

Cedar Hills Tuesday, the feasibility study was also on the agenda. Unlike Pleasant Grove, the Cedar Hills City Council was not ready to join the study. While recognizing the need to prepare for a possible split with the school district, the council opted not to become involved at this time.

Cedar Hills has more in common with American Fork, Highland and Alpine, council members said. They agreed a feasibility study with that group of communities should also be explored.

Though the study is a joint effort among several communities, it is not a guarantee that if all those cities separate from the district they would be in a new district together. No decisions will be made until the study is completed.

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Contributing: Jared Page

E-mail: sstewart@desnews.com