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Districts talking small

Officials to push feasibility study

By Amelia Nielson-Stowell
Deseret Morning News

Published: Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2006 1:21 p.m. MDT

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Discussions on small school districts are heating up across the valley this week.

The south-valley, east-side cities are preparing to approve a joint feasibility study. A legislative ad-hoc committee on small schools is expected to finalize a bill for the Legislature. And the Utah School Public Relations Association is hosting a small school-district meeting.

Four local-government councils plan to meet today to approve an agreement for a feasibility study on creating a new school district. Salt Lake County, Draper, Cottonwood Heights and Midvale will meet today at 1:45 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. The new district would include Alta, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Midvale, Salt Lake County and Sandy.

Alta will meet Thursday to discuss the agreement, while Sandy will discuss the issue at a future council meeting, most likely next Tuesday.

A feasibility study is one of the final steps needed before municipalities can take the issue to voters. HB 77, a law passed during the 2006 legislative session, allows cities to split from large school districts and create their own locally controlled district.

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Other cities considering such a district are South Salt Lake, Holladay and Millcreek township. The only east-side city in Salt Lake County that is out of the discussion is Murray, which runs its own city school district.

City leaders have expressed concern with the new law, saying it is vague about cities that cover two counties, what happens to district property and where current teachers and school board officials would go.

An ad-hoc group of legislators and local officials met earlier this month to discuss a draft bill that would further clarify the original. That bill will be finalized on Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Capitol's West Building, Room 110.

Also, the Utah School Public Relations Association plans to meet Friday to discuss small school districts. The meeting will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at 9301 Wright Ford Road (3400 West), at the Jordan Applied Technology Center.

E-mail: astowell@desnews.com