From Deseret News archives:
Future of Grandview school still uncertain
During a Board of Education study session before Tuesday's regular meeting, Superintendent Randy Merrill discussed a feasibility study of the district's 14-school elementary system, prepared by district staff. The study reviewed the financial impact of the district's elementary schools, student population, capacity and the effect of charter schools.
"This particular study exposes our weak plank," Merrill said. "Frankly, at this point, I can probably make a better case for a 12-school system."
Residents of the Grandview Hill area of Provo, where the school is located, said they want more information and more community input before a decision is made.
The decision must be made by November.
In June, Provo voters approved $35 million in bonds for building construction and upgrades, including $11 million for a new elementary school in west Provo's Lakeview neighborhood.
But in the fall of 2008, when the new school opens, the district may have to close Grandview Elementary because it may be too inefficient to have 14 elementary schools in the district.
The school district could save about $370,000 if it closed Grandview because it would no longer have to pay the principal's salary and other "fixed funds" that need to be paid regardless of a school's size, Provo School District Business Administrator Kerry Smith said Tuesday as he explained the study's findings.
About $38.2 million in funds go to items such as teacher salaries and programs that are dispersed somewhat equally among the schools. For instance, a $375,000 grant for remedial reading for students in grades K-3 has to be dispersed among all schools in the district, whether there are three or 14.
Grandview Elementary was built in 1949, making it one of the oldest buildings in the district. That's one of the reasons why it may face the wrecking ball.
The study estimates that keeping the building maintained for the next 10 years will cost $7.3 million. However, if the building were razed and rebuilt today, it would cost $10.8 million.
That means that over the next decade the district will have to pay 70 percent of the cost of a new building to keep Grandview open. Keeping it open could be considered financially irresponsible, Smith said.
About 105 students in Provo are enrolled in the Freedom Academy charter school, in the same neighborhood as Grandview and Westridge elementary schools. The Walden charter high school may open an elementary school, which could take more students from district schools, according to the study.
