Using Utah Transit Authority buses to transport students in some areas of Granite School District would cost more than continuing to use district buses, school board members were told Tuesday night.
The district has been discussing the possibility of using UTA buses to transport students in the Granite High School area.Cost to the district would be $117 per year per student, compared with an average $80 now paid by the district using its own transportation resources, said Dr. Frank Willardsen, assistant superintendent for administrative services.
UTA could also not accommodate some students living at the extremes of the area considered, he said. That could mean some students would have to walk up to 1.5 miles to catch a city bus, and some would have to transfer as many as two times to get to school.
The district, which is considering privatizing some services, was told UTA could not provide upkeep services for school buses because of federal restraints related to funding. Granite will continue to look for more cost-effective ways to provide the service, including discussing cooperative efforts with adjacent Salt Lake County districts.
In another matter, the district also agreed to send information to Murray School District regarding school issues related to a proposed annexation of Bennion-area property by Murray City.
Murray Superintendent Ronald Stephens requested information about how many students are in the area being considered for annexation, which is south of 53rd South. If the city annexed the land, several hundred Granite District students would be shifted to Murray schools, unless other arrangements were made.
Granite has objected to Murray annexations that deprive the district of tax income and leave them with problems related to educating students. Earlier, a threat was made to seek consolidation of the districts if Murray City continued to erode the Granite tax base.
The information regarding potential effects on schools in the Bennion area also will be sent to Murray Council member Greg Brown, who requested it.