Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
AMERICAN FORK — The Alpine School District Board of Education on Tuesday voted to continue studying two potential options for how Utah's largest school district could be reconfigured going forward.
The latest decision comes in anticipation of putting at least one of the reconfiguration options on the ballot for voters to decide in November.
During the Alpine School District Board of Education meeting on Feb. 27, MGT Consulting — a Florida company contracted by the district's school board to conduct a feasibility study — first discussed the option of keeping the district together under its current configuration.
Staying together?
On Tuesday, Superintendent Shane Farnsworth said that the board has reviewed MGT's findings and recommends "that the district remain as one consolidated district."
"We believe that that is the best configuration to best meet the needs of all students. As we bring the board together and the communities together to work collectively, that allows us to maximize the economies of scale," Farnsworth said.
But a split of some kind has been discussed off and on for the past 20 years, with board members recently describing "tension" in the growing district. The topic has caused controversy within the community in recent years, with a failed proposition in Orem in 2022 seeking to separate the city from the district. Some officials contend the district needs to separate to better serve the needs of different growing cities.
Farnsworth added that the board understands there are "other variables" that board members and cities within the district are wrestling with and that the district's patrons want an initiative on the ballot.
Alternative option
One of those initiatives is the fourth option in MGT's feasibility study. This option would split Alpine School District into three districts, with the east district made up of Orem, Vineyard, Lindon and Pleasant Grove.
The central district would be made of Alpine, Cedar Hills, Highland, Lehi, and American Fork, and the west district would be home to Cedar Fort, Fairfield, Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs.
"Of those who preferred a three-way option, that is the one they prefer," board president Sara Hacken said. "There was no support, basically, for options 5 or 6."
Notably, Option 6 was a three-way split with Lehi forming its own district.
Under Option 4, the east and central districts would be operating at budget deficits of $6.3 million and $8.2 million, respectively. The west district would maintain a budget surplus to the tune of $27.5 million.
After a board vote, Option 4 passed by a narrow 4-3 vote with board members Ada Wilson, Sarah Beeson and Mark Clement voting against it.
Third option
The second configuration (Option 3 according to MGT's study) that the district will continue studying would see Alpine split into two districts. The east district would be made up of Orem, Vineyard, Lindon, Pleasant Grove, Alpine, Cedar Hills, Highland, Lehi and American Fork.
Cedar Fort, Fairfield, Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs would populate the west district.
"I am in favor of Option 3. It provides for more stability for our employees and, consequently, for our students and gives Orem city as well as neighboring cities an opportunity to be a part of the discussion and a part of the vote," Wilson said.
Under Option 3, the east portion of the district would be operating at a budget deficit of almost $14.6 million with the west in a surplus of $27.5 million.
"I understand there are a lot of concerns when it comes to the finances. ... One of things that I want to communicate to employees as well as the other board members is I think there are ways for us to be creative and for us to solve problems if we're willing to figure out how to use our economies of scale to benefit everyone overall and that we can create dynamics where needs are met across the board while also making sure that more and more of those resources end up in classrooms supporting our students and our teachers," board member Julie King said.
After some discussion, Option 3 passed unanimously.
The board continually clarified that it wasn't voting to put any options on the ballot Tuesday, only to continue studying potential reconfiguration scenarios. Farnsworth said the final decision on whether or not a reconfiguration initiative is indeed put on the ballot will be made by the board on July 12.
MGT's feasibility study can be read in its entirety here.
