Reader comments
South Jordan OK's district-split study

A west side only Jordan School District is much more viable than several small school districts. I hope the feasibility studies deal with reality. Small school districts struggle to provide programs for students that large districts may take for granted. This is going to be a major mess.

I read the West Jordan feasibility study to create our own school district (available online from the city's website). It's ugly. Taxes up, educational services down. I don't blame South Jordan for wanting to have a study, but three districts on the west side is just a really bad idea on many levels.

I hope West Jordan residents will take time to look at the study to see how bad this idea really is. Even if the east side creates its own district, the rest of us are much better off sticking together.

I wonder if anyone has considered such things as teacher recruitment and retention if decisions go to a possible five district split of Jordan School District. Smaller districts would not have the resources to recruit out of state, at least without some kind of supporting tax increase.

Retention of teachers could be an interesting issue. The East side districts are losing students, and hence teachers. Currently teachers released are transferred to schools which are experiencing growth. A veteran teacher could lose salary by transferring districts if the current salary schedules remain in place.

The current Jordan School District has an inadequate middle school and high school alternative program. I wonder how small districts would cope with this problem. I would guess that expansion of Valley High School to another building is on hold until they find out what schools and cities will remain in the district.

Ah well. I have no more children in he school system. Should I care?

Splitting the JSD is going to be a major disaster all this is going to do is drop the quality of education students will receive. For what the east side not wanting to pay for the west. Very selfish reasons. In the end it will cost everyone. I plan to move once this occurs so it will not be my problem

I've never seen so many crazy things happen that will ultimately destroy public education in what is now a great school district. Why isn't the public screaming? People (community leaders) are very niave about what public schools are all about. Disaster is in the making if this division mentality continues. It is the very most serious issue confronting our local communities, our children and grandchildren, but no one seems to care. What's going on?

Can someone please tell me how kids are going to benefit from all of this? Seems to me the kids will be in the same schools, with the same principals, with the same teachers. So, what's going to change -- besides taxes that is? If this doesn't benefit kids they why do it? Why abandon a nationally recognized school district with the No. 1 graduation rate in the country. Be careful what you wish for!

Jordan School District has been deaf to parents and students for years. A new smaller school district will be more efficient, and out of neccessity, more responsive to parent and student concerns. At my high school, there were boys passing out pornography to female students as they walked down the hall. My parents and I went to the school's administration, and nothing was done to stop them. My friends and I were continually harrassed by the pictures, and the horrible comments about women. My parents decided that if nothing was going to be done at the high school, we better go talk to Barry Newbold. Again, he did not care about our needs, and nothing was done to stop the harrassment. The school district offered little support or interest in my needs, because I was just one person. Jordan School District is too big, and needs to be split. I believe if there is more parent involvement and interest allowed, the schools will thrive. I am tired of the school districts sending out misinformation, because they want to keep their kingdom.

There are always pros and cons to any system whether it be the old or the new. If small districts can not get the job done, then why does Murray school district and others throughout the state and nation make it work so well? As for working conditions, smaller districts are a breathe of fresh air. Administration at the district level know most all of the teachers in a smaller district and are more familiar with the needs within the communities. They are able to do more efficient and effective assessments on students, teachers, administration (principals), and programs. It would also seem that Jordan needs to do something since they have overcrowded classrooms and the lowest salary for teachers, never mind the benefits including retirement, that was taken away from teachers in that district. Many people will not even apply to Jordan because of that reason alone, they go other places. On the bright side, Jordan has the reputation of being a good district to work in. Why not keep the good relations/reputation and make things smaller so students, teachers, and communities can benefit? Will it be an uncomfortable transition....probably. But most changes are to some extent or another.

Splitting Jordan School district would not help students. They will go to the same school no matter what happens. Smaller school district do not give parent's any more say in what goes on in the school than a large district does. Just because you have a smaller district doen't mean parents will magicllay get to go and change everything they do not like about he schools any more than they would if it was a larger school district. Parents who think this are naive about how school districts are run. I feel like it is the rich (the East side) against the middle-class,(the west side). Creating additional districts costs millions of dollars and costs taxes payers more money because the new school district has to higher and pay over 100 new employees. These jobs do not really help what happens in the classroom in the long run. These jobs are merely more overhead for the Utah tax payer. And the overhead is not short term. It is long term.