Sandy mulling over split to create school district

City crunches numbers to see if leaving Jordan District is feasible option

By Amelia Nielson-Stowell and Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Deseret Morning News
Published: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 9:17 a.m. MDT
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Seceding from large school districts is an idea that's picking up steam with several Utah cities. Sandy is joining the ranks of at least four other communities that have floated the idea of creating their own small school districts.

Recent legislation allowing cities to create their own districts is scheduled to be discussed today by the Legislature's Political Subdivisions Interim Committee.

Sandy officials say their city is crunching its own numbers on creating a new district, "just to see if it's feasible," said Trina Klingler, Sandy's communication manager. The south-valley suburb of 90,000 is part of Jordan School District, the largest district in Utah.

In Salt Lake County, declining school-age populations have resulted in school closures in some east-side cities, where neighborhoods are older and built-out. Meanwhile, the west side is a growing housing market where many young families are moving in.

"The main issue is all the schools that are being built or funded are on the west side," Klingler said. "We just don't want them to forget that there are schools on the east side, many that are old and need repair."

Councilman Stephen Smith said Sandy is in a difficult position because of the focus on west-side schools. It puts Sandy in a tough spot because city officials say they have good relations with the district.

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City officials will meet with the Jordan Board of Education on May 30, when they plan to pitch the idea, Klingler said. The meeting is one in a series of chats the board has scheduled with leaders of the cities in its boundaries.

Ditching what some cities say are large, impersonal districts for small, locally controlled ones has been discussed by West Valley City, South Salt Lake and Holladay — all in Granite School District — and Cottonwood Heights, which straddles Granite and Jordan districts.

The idea also surfaced in Utah County last week, when residents presented the Orem City Council with 1,000 signatures requesting that the city form its own school district. Two years ago, before the new law, the Utah County Commission decided against letting voters decide whether to create a Pioneer School District for residents of Lehi, Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain.

Sandy, the most recent to examine the idea of going on its own, accounts for about a quarter of Jordan District's expected property-tax revenues, said Mike Reed, director of the property-tax division at the Salt Lake County Auditor's Office. The district operates on a $576-million budget.

More than 20,300 Jordan District students live in Sandy, district spokesman Michael Kelley said. And about 30 percent of district schools — 18 elementary schools, six middle schools, and Jordan and Alta high schools — are within city boundaries.

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