The Senate Education Committee has endorsed a bill that would enable the electorate to carve out new school districts from existing school districts that serve more than 50,000 students.
The bill would enable 15 percent of the electorate in an existing school district to petition the county commission to form a new school district, a mechanism not now contained in law. As drafted, the bill would apply only to the Granite, Jordan and Davis school districts.Sen. Millie Peterson, D-West Valley, said some Granite School District patrons who reside in her Senate district have expressed concerns about equity. Specifically, patrons complain about their children being bused across the valley to attend "that monolith" Cottonwood High School, Peterson said.
Patrons also have complained that there are fewer concurrent enrollment classes offered at Hunter High School than schools on the east side of the district.
Judy Larson, vice president of the Granite Board of Education, said smaller school districts may have some advantages but students in the state's largest school district benefit from the diverse student body and special services the district is able to provide.
Any new district created could be no smaller than 20,000 students. Once a citizen petition is filed to form a new district - including proposed boundaries - the Utah State Office of Education would compute the costs associated with the creation of a new district. The bill also requires that the formation of a new district be approved by voters during a general election.