Will Alpine School District remain intact or be split?

Multiple city councils in Utah County met Tuesday to vote whether to ask county officials to place on the general election ballot questions whether to split the Alpine School District and form new, smaller school districts.

Currently, the cities are served by the Alpine School District, which had an enrollment of 84,700 students in fall 2023, the largest statewide.

The cities of Alpine, American Fork, Cedar Hills, Draper, Highland and Lehi each met on Tuesday to consider resolutions requesting that the Utah County clerk place the ballot question on the November ballot.

The proposal contemplates that those five communities and the portion of Draper in Utah County would be served by a new school district, which is temporarily being referred to as the Central School District. If voters approve of the new school district, the future school board will select its name.

The Alpine City Council held a special meeting at noon Tuesday and voted unanimously to approve the resolution that the Utah County Clerk place the issue on the general election ballot.

City Administrator Shane Sorensen, in a brief presentation before the vote, said the city hired a consulting firm that recommended that the proposed Central School District was financially viable.

“Their conclusion was, ‘We are of the opinion that the new school district is a viable alternative to the existing school district,’“ he said.

A new, smaller school district would also bring about more local control, more control to meet the needs of students and potential tax savings, he said of the consultant’s findings.

Meanwhile, two other city councils in Utah County — Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain — considered resolutions on Tuesday whether to ask the Utah County clerk to place on the November ballot a question whether to create a new district in the western portion of the county that would serve Fairfield, Cedar Fort, Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain and certain unincorporated areas west of Utah Lake.

The Saratoga Springs council voted unanimously for the resolution.

This spring, several city councils unanimously passed resolutions to potentially create a new school district. The cities have conducted two public hearings each to hear public comment on the proposed new school district leading up to Tuesday’s vote to ask that the issue be placed on the general election ballot.

In late May, Alpine School District Superintendent Shane Farnsworth sent a video to all employees announcing his recommendation to keep the district whole.

“Alpine School District is a viable, responsive, fiscally well-managed and high-achieving school district,” Farnsworth said at the time.

A Florida consulting firm hired by the school district recommended a two-way split.

In June, the Utah Legislature passed HB3003 to clarify the process for splitting a school district.

Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove, the bill’s sponsor, said the intent of the legislation was to avoid a “messy ballot” and a “messy outcome” if various options to split the district appear on ballots and more than one passes.

The bill, passed during a special session, eliminated the option for a local school board to initiate the process to create a new school district.

If voters approve the ballot questions in November, it would take several months to establish new governance and administrative functions.