Meadow Moor Elementary students now have the option of staying put next fall instead of transferring to Hill View Elementary after their school closes in June.
Happy tears were shed by parents and school leaders at the Granite Board of Education meeting Tuesday night when board members voted to relocate Hill View to Meadow Moor's facility next year. The board determined Meadow Moor's facility is safer with better accessibility and lower future maintenance costs than Hill View's building.
"The board is not reversing its decision; Hill View will just change buildings," said Granite superintendent Steve Ronnenkamp. "It makes a lot of sense and the decision is a good one in terms of the best building for kids and it's a smart thing to do from a financial standpoint."
Last November, Granite board members voted to close Meadow Moor and Canyon Rim elementaries to reduce operational costs.
Meadow Moor students were split between Twin Peaks Elementary and Hill View. But district leaders and community members were concerned since they felt Meadow Moor's facility was a better building than Hill View's — specifically in seismic safety.
Ronnenkamp said ever since the closure decisions there had been question about abandoning a facility that may be in better shape than the building the students would then attend. Since then, school leaders and community members have been in a continual discussion.
Earlier this month, the Granite board had the district look into the issue and make a recommendation on which building — Hill View, Meadow Moor or Canyon Rim — would be the best from a safety, operational and financial standpoint.
District leaders looked not just at the seismic rating but at the buildings as a whole, evaluating them in terms of age, safety, transportation accessibility, and the costs to operate and maintain the buildings.
Meadow Moor came out on top.
While in some areas the three schools were similar, Meadow Moor pulled ahead when it came to seismic safety, handicap accessibility and transportation factors. It also had the least estimated improvement expenses that would come later down the road.
Plus, Meadow Moor's building capacity is 578. Hill View's projected enrollment for next fall is 365, which leaves room for the Meadow Moor students who would have been sent to Twin Peaks to get special permits back into Meadow Moor.
As more students opt to come back, the school also will be able to retain some of Meadow Moor's faculty.
"I want you to know that I am very pleased — I was very concerned about the safety of the kids at Hill View and, if I could erase and go back, I would just say we should combine the two schools" said Patricia Sandstrom, board president.
The district is also allowing a special two-week window to allow Meadow Moor students who were headed to Twin Peaks or other schools to have priority in obtaining permits to go to Meadow Moor.
Leaders from both schools said it was a positive decision for both communities.
"We feel it is good to send our children to (Meadow Moor's building). It is a good area and it is safe," said Kathie Johnston, Hill View's co-PTA president. "We know it brings some challenges, but we are willing to work with that and we support your decision in sending our children there."
Johnston also said she requested that the school keep the name Meadow Moor to avoid confusion. But that decision is still up in the air. It may be left for the students to decide.
"We anticipate that next fall, within a few days, no faculty and child will be known as a Hill View kid or Meadow Moor kid," Becky Cowden, chair of Meadow Moor's school community council, told the board. "We will all be a part of a fabulous school and we thank you."
E-mail: terickson@desnews.com