OREM — A second study on the feasibility of dividing the Alpine School District found that residents' property taxes could increase by about $3 a month on a $100,000 house.

Under such a scenario, the new school district would issue about $60 million in bonds that would pay for upgrades on existing schools and a new administration building that's estimated, with land, to cost about $4.2 million, according to the study by Lewis Young Robertson & Burningham, Inc., a financial advisory and consulting firm.

The study was the second presented late Thursday night and early Friday morning in hours-long meetings among mayors and members of the city councils of Orem, Vineyard, Lindon and Pleasant Grove.

The firm was contracted to expand on findings of educational consultant Mike Bennett, who presented the first study Thursday.

In the spring the Utah Legislature passed a law specifying how school districts can divide, and about a dozen cities along the Wasatch Front are considering such moves.

The city councils of the four Utah County cities have until Aug. 28 to decide whether to put a division question on the Nov. 7 ballot.

The city councils are considering different configurations for a new school district. They include Orem only; Orem and Vineyard; Orem, Vineyard and Lindon; Orem, Vineyard, Lindon and Pleasant Grove.

Although the first study indicated that enrollment is expected to decline in Orem, the second study noted that the old Geneva Steel property in Vineyard is slated to be developed.

If the developer builds businesses on the land, the new school district could collect property taxes, which would help financially, Orem City Councilman Dean Dickerson said.

If the developer builds houses, families will fill them, which means more children and money for the new school district. The Legislature gives Utah's 40 school districts money for each student it educates.

Vineyard will likely increase in population because of its location in one of the state's fastest-growing counties.

"We know the time for Vineyard having farms is over," Dickerson said.

The study concluded that there would initially be less money in the new school district's general fund than in Alpine School District's general fund — a net loss of about $174 per student each year in an Orem-only district.

The study found that a proposed $230 million bond that the Alpine School District is asking voters to approve in November would pay only for a small number of building projects in the four cities. Only 26 percent of the projects would benefit the four cities, although they provide 47 percent of the district's tax revenue.

Laura Lewis, who helped write the study, warned that specifics on dividing property and bond debt have not been delineated by the Legislature, and residents could get stuck with paying part of the $230 million Alpine District bond debt if it passes in November.

However, city council members said that is unlikely. An ad hoc committee at the Legislature is considering tightening the law to clarify debt-division issues.

Dickerson believes the costs of forming a new district are minimal. Some residents may want a smaller district to feel like they have more direct control over education matters. The Alpine School District spans the northern half of Utah County and has 54,000 students.

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com