Davis District to hire consultant to draw boundaries

Work on setting new boundaries for Davis County's seven existing high schools and an eighth school that will open in Syracuse next year will start over and this time, a private consultant will make the recommendations.

The Tuesday night decision by the Davis Board of Education basically tosses out the three-month-long effort by the Boundary Advisory Committee — consisting of parents, school officials and community leaders — that was appointed by the board earlier in the fall. The decision will likely void the current court challenge.

Many parents attending Tuesday's meeting applauded the decision while others said it was a big step backward.

A 2nd District Court judge in Farmington, responding to claims that the committee violated the state's open meeting law, issued a restraining order last Thursday preventing the district from holding further discussions or making any decisions on boundary proposals based on recommendations by the committee.

All discussion came to a standstill after Thursday's ruling, but board members said Tuesday there is no time to waste.

Leaders said they are racing the clock and need to have new boundaries established as soon as possible so they can move forward with preparations for the new school in Syracuse.

Schools will need to have preliminary enrollment numbers by January in order to plan for next school year.

The board decided hiring a private consultant was the best option for avoiding further court-ordered delays. It's now the superintendent's job to hire a consultant to draw new high school lines.

That consultant will be directed to follow the same criteria the committee was asked to follow — balancing enrollment numbers while taking into consideration safety issues when it comes to commuting, as well as socio-economic factors.

While some were pleased with the decision, other community members said that with the lawsuit parents filed last week, "a few squeaky wheels ruined the process for everybody."

Many parents have said the committee leaders weren't listening to concerns and that the process was not open to the public.

Janeth Balle, a Bountiful parent, disagreed, saying the critics have taken what was an open, fair process and put it in the hands of a private consultant.

"Now who is going to have input?" she asked.