The winners and the losers

• Winner: One of the most troublesome aspects of the move to split the two largest school districts in Salt Lake County has been that many people who will be affected by the vote financially and, perhaps, in terms of available school services, don't get to vote on the matter. Herriman city and individual voters on the west side of Jordan School District have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to halt the November election on the split and to overturn the applicable state law permitting the divisions. They claim the law and vote violate their First Amendment and 14th Amendment rights. This issue should be answered by a court before the election moves forward. Even if the matter is not on the ballot for the Nov. 6 general election, Utahns will conduct a presidential primary election in February. The issue could be addressed then. A school district split is a significant change in Utah public policy. It must be handled with the utmost care.

• Loser: As if the Uintah Basin wasn't already on edge after two convicted killers escaped from the Daggett County Jail on Sunday, a Vernal man sent law enforcers on a fruitless search when he made a false report that he had seen and talked to the inmates. It's unknown why the 27-year-old man, who has not been named by authorities, inserted himself into this event in this manner. Regardless, what a colossal waste of manpower after a disturbing security lapse at the medium-security jail that enabled two convicted murders to scale a security fence and escape.

• Loser: Speaking of loose lips... What was a Granite School District bus driver thinking this week when he reportedly unleashed a racial slur while ordering unruly Bonneville Junior High students off a district school bus? The incident occurred after the bus experienced mechanical problems, forcing the driver to make a return trip to the school. En route, the students reportedly started to act in a rowdy manner. A sound recording captured on a student's cell phone indicates the driver responded by yelling at his passengers, at one point shouting, "Shut up! Shut up!" Driving a school bus can be a very challenging job. Yet school district employees responsible for the care of students have to conduct themselves with decorum. The driver is on paid leave while the school district conducts an investigation.

• Winner: Under protest by members of Congress and religious organizations, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons is returning religious materials to prison libraries it had ordered removed earlier this summer. The bureau had directed prison chaplains to purge libraries of religious books and materials not on a list of "approved" resources. The agency now plans to modify its program and will return materials removed since June. However, materials that could be radicalizing or incite violence will not be replaced, prison officials said.