Draper City Manager Layne Long said the city has tried to come up with ballot language to exclude that Suncrest portion from the new district. But "we could not come up with any language that would not invalidate the whole ballot measure," he said.

Rep. John Dougall, R-American Fork, has been working closely with the group on a piece of draft legislation that would allow Draper to move forward with the split but allow that large chunk of Suncrest residents to continue going to Alpine schools.

Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, and Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, are on board with Dougall's bill. It is slated for legislative discussion July 18, two weeks before the final ballot language must be submitted to election officials.

"We're trying to do it as quickly as possible," he told the Draper council Tuesday. "Can I guarantee a special session? No I can't. But I can work toward that."

Other Draper residents said they wanted a November vote, despite the Suncrest issues.

"Unfortunately, the Suncrest area is the least of concerns as this process begins. Upgrading the schools in the east side is going to be the next issue," said Tracy Bennett, a Draper resident. "I know there are a lot of challenges, but that being said, we need to face these challenges now and have this voted on now."

Two nonprofit organizations also came out with opposing statements on the district splits Tuesday. Both the Utah Taxpayers Association and the Oquirrh Alliance are opposing the split. In addition to the possible Jordan split, Holladay, South Salt Lake and Salt Lake County are studying whether or not to split from Granite School District.

Next up, the Alta Town Council will vote whether to put the issue on the ballot Thursday at 10 a.m. in the town's community center. The Sandy City Council will vote next Tuesday at 7 p.m. in its city hall. And Salt Lake County will vote on Tuesday, July 31, in the County Government Center.

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E-mail: astowell@desnews.com