Orem rejects school district split, 4-3

Orem and Pleasant Grove voters won't be asked to split Alpine School District when they go to the ballot box in November.

City councils in the two north Utah County cities voted against putting the issue on the November ballot.

Pleasant Grove leaders voted unanimously late Tuesday night against the measure. The vote by Orem officials came minutes after midnight — after the Deseret Morning News' print press deadline.

Officials and residents in Orem discussed and debated the issue for more than five hours. In the end, the Orem council voted 4-3 in favor of not placing a question in front of voters about whether or not to split from the Alpine School District and face the challenge of creating a school district in Orem.

Orem Councilman Les Campbell said he didn't want to make such an important decision so fast. "We don't have time to educate our public," he said, "and I believe that's our responsibility."

However, Councilwoman Karen McCandless said she believed there was enough information to take it to the voters and cast her vote for the ballot option.

"My support of placing the question on the ballot doesn't mean that I support or don't support a school-district split," she said. "(But people) should have the opportunity to voice their feelings at the polls."

The issue remains under consideration in Lindon and Vineyard. The city councils of the two cities have yet to meet to vote on the proposal.

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 creating smaller districts.

The Alpine School District has 54,000 students; parents have complained about the district's math program and how administrators do not address their concerns.

Last week, two educational consultants presented feasibility studies that showed the number of students in Orem will decline. That could be offset if Vineyard students are included in the plan.

The former Geneva Steel property in Vineyard has been sold to a developer, who has proposed building houses and businesses at the site. That could boost the number of children in the city while building the city's tax base.

One of the studies determined residential property taxes will increase by about $3 a month on a $100,000 house if cities form a new district.