Jordan-west transition team hires a lawyer

The Jordan School District transition team announced Monday that Stoel Rives LLC will represent the west-side school district if talks on how to divide the district's assets are not resolved before going to arbitration.

Jordan-west transition chairman Ralph Haws said his team is determined not to go to arbitration, but it would be "negligent" if the team did not prepare and choose a legal representative in case arbitration is unavoidable.

"We are committed to moving the process forward in a timely manner," Haws said. "We're going to make proper preparations so if, in fact, we have to go forward in that direction, we'll be prepared to represent the students and residents and have a fair and equitable resolution."

The Jordan-east transition team retained a lawyer to prepare for arbitration early this month after the Jordan-west team rejected a proposal that they thought divided the district's assets unfairly.

Both teams are continuing to discuss a revised proposal, but details of the proposal were not disclosed at the Monday afternoon meeting.