"Second, the disconnect between Board members is a problem and growing rapidly. Right now, a member of our Board represents substantially more people than a member of our state legislature in the House. This has effectively inverted the notion of local government, making our State government more responsive than our local government. Furthermore, we have ten very large high schools in the District, but only seven board members, making it impossible for board members to know their local schools effectively."
"The obvious solution to most of the District’s problems is to split the District three ways so that each new District could better respond to Orem’s slow growth, the stable growth between Lindon and American Fork, and the rapid growth between Lehi and Eagle Mountain. Not one single candidate will even mention the topic, much less discuss it."
Despite the subterfuge put out by those who oppose making Orem its own school district, it is more likely that the necessary schools, and the seismic upgrades needed, will get done only if we divide.
ReplyDeletePeople are more likely to support bonds that go for things their own community needs. They are reticent to pay for those things in other communities. The west side doesn't want their taxes raised to retrofit Orem's schools, and Orem doesn't want to have their taxes raised to build schools in areas that their children will not attend.
It doesn't matter if the district administration were able to make it completely fair for both (which isn't possible when there are more board members in one area than in another), the perception on both sides is that their taxes are benefiting the other side and not their own. That is why big districts can never keep up with growth.
If we want to get those things done, we won't be able to do it together. We need to divide as we grow, just like organic beings. Our bodies could not do what they do, if we were just one big cell! To grow, we need to divide.