Plan for special session on splits thrills city officials

The possibility of two school-district splits looked stalled at the county level, but Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s decision to breathe life into the proposals through a special session has city officials "thrilled" — and anxious.

Huntsman's Thursday announcement means three crucial district split issues could be hammered out in time for the Salt Lake County Council to vote on whether an east-side exodus from Jordan and Granite school districts would fly.

Although all the east-side cities have given the green light, the county has yet to vote whether to put the issue on the November ballot. At the special session, though, legislators will address questions that have drawn many county council members away from the split idea.

A bill proposes equalizing school building on a countywide level, alleviating west-siders' concerns that their possible new districts would be faced with rising enrollment and school construction needs but not enough money to manage the growth.

"Now, they know the Legislature is serious about doing it," Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore Jr. said concerning Salt Lake County's heel-dragging. "This is a real show of good faith on the part of the Legislature that it is truly their intent to deal with any tax inequities that exist. ... Those who were genuinely concerned about tax equalization should be reassured by this action."

In addition to equalizing school construction, another cleanup bill aims at fixing some of the problems that have arisen since the February approval of the small school district bill.

Under current law, a split from Jordan School District must be drawn along city lines. However, some 300 residents of the mountaintop SunCrest community actually live in Utah County and their children attend schools in the Alpine District. The Alpine District allows children to attend closer schools and provides bus service on the mountain roads.

But those families may be forced to attend school in a new district if a Jordan split happens.

A bill in the special session, however, could allow the Utah County students to stay in Alpine.

"We'll get more support from Draper residents that way," Draper Mayor Darell Smith said. "It makes everything easier to deal with and not so complicated. I'm anxious to see, come next Wednesday, where it goes from here."

Draper, Sandy, Alta, Cottonwood Heights and Midvale have approved a possible split from Jordan. But those SunCrest residents have formed a group, Better Boundaries. They say they could derail the district if their concerns aren't addressed.