Lawmakers to study school-district divisions

A bill that addresses the process of dividing a school district, including the timing and procedure of the district's school-board election, will be getting more attention after the legislative session ends.

HB186, sponsored by Rep. Laura Black, D-Sandy, is now headed for further study and discussion by a legislative interim committee following a unanimous vote by the House Education Standing Committee on Tuesday.

Black's bill is the result of the Jordan School District split. She believes the current law overlooked some important details and could use a bit of tweaking. "Some pieces of legislation were left out during the original drafting of this bill," she said.

In November 2007, east-side residents voted to leave Jordan District and form their own school district, now called Canyons School District. The division is scheduled to be official in July.

Four board members from Jordan District were automatically placed on the Canyons school board. Four other Jordan District board members went to the west-side Jordan District board.

Black's bill requires that transitioning board members go through an election process. "This makes everybody run — for a democratic process," she said.

Further, her bill would require a primary election in June and general election in November for school-board candidates. The current bill calls for a special election in June.

The bill also aims to possibly give a newly formed district more time to organize and be ready for students. The old bill allows for 20 months after a district-split vote — which some say is too little time. The new bill calls for 32 months after the vote — which others say is too long.

Jordan School District Superintendent Barry Newbold said he believes interim discussion on these "critical issues" would be beneficial.

Newbold points out while "experienced board members are very helpful," it isn't unreasonable for a transitioning school-board member, who has the potential to be in their position for eight years, to go through an election.

He also believes a middle ground is needed on the allotted time to organize a new district.

Canyons Board President Tracy Cowdell, who is one of the board members who transferred over from Jordan board, supports the bill in general.

Cowdell points out, however, that each member of the Canyons board was elected to serve as a school-board member. "There is some value in incumbent board members serving out their term on a new board because of the complexity of the rules governing public education," he said.