Cottonwood High School could end up closing if the Granite School District splits.
So the community is poised to take a stand.
A group is organizing efforts to lobby the Salt Lake County Council to say no to an east-side school district proposal. That's because if the district splits, Cottonwood would become part of the Murray School District, which has no plans to operate a second high school.
Stan Hanks and Terry Palmer of Holladay and John Haglund of Millcreek have invited about 1,000 Cottonwood community members to an informational meeting Monday at 7 p.m. at the high school. They'll urge participants to speak out at the County Council's Tuesday public hearing on whether to put the proposal to create a new east-side school district on the ballot.
"No one really understands, I believe, that Cottonwood is going to get closed and those that live in (parts of its boundaries) aren't going to have a say on it," Hanks said.
South Salt Lake, Millcreek township and Holladay are examining forming their own district. The South Salt Lake City Council voted this past week to put the idea to voters. The Holladay City Council is scheduled to vote on the matter Thursday. The Salt Lake County Council, which would determine whether Millcreek participates, is expected to vote Aug. 7, and is hosting a public hearing Tuesday.
The County Council is considered a swing vote in the Granite District split. Some council members want to make sure the west side isn't left to manage huge growth and need for more buildings with a tiny tax base, for instance. Others believe lawmakers will work out those issues before the November election.
County Mayor Peter Corroon says concerns about Cottonwood High also are pouring into his office. Some Taylorsville students are bused to Cottonwood, making an east-side-exclusive population too small to maintain an entire high school.
Adding to the mix: Millcreek residents supporting the split have started a petition urging the County Council to put the question to voters.
The Cottonwood community has several concerns about the split.
Murray city several years ago annexed part of the Granite District that included Woodstock and Twin Peaks elementaries and Cottonwood High School. State law at the time ensured those schools would remain in Granite.
But the Murray City Council has decided those parts of the city won't be part of a new school district. In doing so, if a new school district is formed, that area and the buildings would fold into Murray School District boundaries.
Murray Superintendent Richard Tranter has said his district would likely need those elementaries to accommodate enrollment. But Cottonwood High's enrollment would drop from 1,400 to 629 in the district split — including 323 students who attend on special permits — because the west-siders wouldn't be there, according to a Granite District analysis.
Tranter has said that in that event, Cottonwood High could close, be sold, leased, or used to house Murray's Hillcrest Junior High, which needs to be rebuilt. The Academy for Math, Engineering & Science charter school, now housed at Cottonwood, also might need to find a new home. And Murray High would need an addition to house 350 new students.
But why should that fate befall Cottonwood, wonder supporters, who call the school one of Utah's showcase campuses?
"What is hard, I think, for us to swallow is this concept that the small school district movement began as a way to protect neighborhood schools, but it's not protecting Cottonwood," said Haglund, a member of the Cottonwood High Community Council.
Also at issue for the Cottonwood group is who gets to vote.
The law allows only those living in the proposed new district's boundary to vote on a district split. Several west-side mayors in Granite and Jordan District, where another district split proposal is under way, say that violates constitutional one man, one vote guarantees. In Cottonwood's case, parents of some students attending the school wouldn't get a chance to vote because they live in the west.
Another concern is what would happen to students' education and choices as school choice could be whittled to Olympus or Skyline high schools instead of the eight schools to choose from in the larger district, Palmer said.
"I hope the County Council would be wise enough to vote against putting this on the ballot at this time. ... I think it's important enough that we have a better plan."
Contributing: Amelia Nielson-Stowell
E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com