School boundaries may depend on Grandview

PROVO — A committee charged with studying the possibility of closing Grandview Elementary has presented the Board of Education two boundary maps — one for if the school is closed and another if it is not.

Committee chairman Christian Faulconer recommended to board members Tuesday they make the decision about closing Grandview at the same time as they choose new school boundaries.

"It's important to us as a committee that they link them together," Faulconer said. "We felt a consensus under both (keeping the school open or closing it) based on these boundaries. And if they decide to close Grandview and address the boundaries (at a later date), all the consensus we built would fall out."

The question of closing 49-year-old Grandview Elementary, at 1591 N. Jordan Ave., comes on the heels of completion of construction of an elementary in the nearby Lakeview neighborhood.

After the Lakeview school opens in fall 2008, district officials question whether there will be enough money and children to justify operating 14 elementary schools in the 13,000-student district.

The committee studying the potential closure, made up of district staff and community members who live in affected areas, reviewed finances, enrollment history and projects and previous commitments made by the school board and district staff.

"As a committee, I believe we are a reflection of the community at large," Faulconer said.

However, the task was frustrating to committee members because they couldn't study boundaries and schools in downtown, south or east Provo.

"We feel as a committee we were asked to look at a real small area of the problem," he said.

From a financial perspective, it's easy to make the case to close Grandview, he said.

But from an enrollment perspective it is not because Faulconer believes there will be growth in west Provo with a development promising more than 1,000 homes.

Superintendent Randy Merrill, however, said enrollment projections can be "Jell-O-like" because many students are home-schooled or attend charter schools.

The committee determined that if Grandview is closed, the Lakeview school will open with 657 students, at 91 percent capacity. Westridge will have 682 students, 105 percent capacity.

The district may have to budget money for an addition at Westridge Elementary.