It's looking grim for voters to have a say in whether to split the Granite School District, although legislators in a special session today might get around the current process to free up a vote in Jordan District.
Lawmakers also will approve a school building "equalization" bill, regardless of actions by the Salt Lake County Council, legislative leaders say.
Besides the school district-split law, the 104 part-time lawmakers will also vote on making the torture of animals a felony and authorizing the state to place more inmates in the Garfield County Jail, a move that would allow county officials to enlarge that facility.
House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, said he had received private assurances that sooner or later, the Salt Lake County Council will act to put the possible east/west splits of both Granite and Jordan school districts on the November ballot. "We're counting on (council members') good word," he said Monday.
On Tuesday, however, the council voted down a proposal to put the Jordan split on the ballot. The council didn't even discuss a possible split of the Granite District. Both issues, however, will be debated again Thursday during a special council meeting.
"Granite is a no-go," councilman Joe Hatch said. "Granite has so many problems, it is not doable in the short term."
Several Democratic council members said the only way to get their vote is for lawmakers to approve a districtwide, not county- or statewide school construction equalization bill. Hatch said a districtwide equalization plan would balance the burden of school construction costs in both the new and remaining districts left over after a split.
Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, said Tuesday that she had understood that the county would follow through with putting the issue on the ballot, because of the equalization bill, which would ensure that west-siders won't get hurt in a district split. "That was the deal," she said.
Hatch insists there was no such deal. "I would like to know who the legislators spoke to, if they thought they had a deal," he said.
Walker said she was frustrated and disappointed in the county, saying the county's action Tuesday could fuel another bill to bypass county approval for the Jordan District, at least.
Rep. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, also plans to introduce HB1002, which would keep "really small populations" within a proposed new school district from "stopping the whole process" of local governments joining together to form a new school district. When a group of local governments move to create a new school district, local councils representing only 80 percent of the new district's total population must agree to a vote under the bill.
That bill Tuesday earned the blessing of the legislative Local Issues Task Force, which has attempted to address issues in efforts to split Granite and Jordan, the state's two largest school districts. The bill would relate more to split efforts in Jordan than in Granite.
Under current law, if a group of cities and/or the county want to create a new district, all local governments' legislative bodies must vote in favor of the district split and agree to put the matter before voters.
The "equalization" bill that lawmakers will consider would require the school districts in Salt Lake County to pay into a building construction fund. A revised bill presented to the task force Tuesday would split the revenues 50/50 for growth, calculated over three years, and current student population. Districts in a county of the first class — Salt Lake County is the only one — must participate if they want state education money.
The bill would be revenue neutral, essentially freeing up head room for school districts to raise taxes to address growth by pooling everyone's resources, supporters contend. It also spreads out burden of new district construction, just as public school operations are "equalized" through the income tax.
But there would be winners and losers. Jordan would get $13.8 million more than it puts into the pot. But Murray would get $627,000 less; Granite would get $1.9 million less; and Salt Lake would get $11.3 million less than it puts in, according to an analysis by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel. The likely outcome: Taxes in those losing districts would go up by the same amount.
The analysis doesn't address what would happen if Granite and Jordan split, because the numbers there aren't solid enough for an analysis, said Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper. The proposed new district in Granite, for instance, now seeks to put east-side Cottonwood High in the west-side district.
But, Stephenson noted, Jordan's west side likely will get more growth money than the east, and more money for population.
Salt Lake City, as well as Salt Lake and Granite school district officials, have decried the bill. Salt Lake City councilman Dave Buhler said the equalization bill stands to cost city taxpayers $11 million, which will be made up through a tax hike.
There's also some question as to whether the state can constitutionally require one school district to levy taxes to benefit another, noted Steve Peterson of the Utah School Boards and Superintendents associations. Legislative Research and General Counsel said it's uncertain how the courts would interpret that and expected the bill to contain no constitutional warnings.
Meanwhile, two bills pertaining to animal torture are slated to be introduced today. Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake, wants to make it a felony for the first offense of egregious torture. Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, has a bill that makes animal torture a third-degree felony only after the second torture offense is committed.
Called "Henry's Law," the legislation is named after Henry, a small mixed-breed dog that was tortured by the now-ex-husband of the dog's owner. The man put Henry into a hot oven, burning the dog's paws. The man earlier had struck the dog in the eye with a leaf-blower, blinding the dog in that eye. The man was convicted of a class A misdemeanor of animal torture, but animal advocates say that such a crime should be a felony.
Legislative leaders expect the special session to last just one day, although under the Utah Constitution, once called by the governor, a special session can last 30 days.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. "will act quickly on the legislation," his spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelley, said Tuesday. "The purpose of calling the special session at this point was to make sure that it would be on the ballot if so deemed by the Legislature."
Special issues
Questions about splitting Granite and Jordan school districts and funding equalization for school construction, stemming from a law that allows the creation of small school districts.
Measures that would make the torture of animals a felony.
Legislation that would allow the state to place more inmates in the Garfield County Jail, a move that will allow county officials to enlarge that facility.
Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche.
E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com, bbjr@desnews.com, jtcook@desnews.com