So it begins...

The Daily Herald reported today that several cities are taking steps to potentially put a district split question to voters. Essentially, this would be Option 4 from the ASD/MGT presentation. Key takeaways:

• Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs, Cedar Fort and Fairfield appear to be intent on putting the issue to the voters. This makes sense because they are the ones desperate to build new schools, and it has become obvious that waiting for all of Alpine School District to agree to pay for the new buildings is wishful, but unrealistic thinking.
• Lehi, American Fork, Alpine, Cedar Hills, Highland, and the small part of Draper that has been part of the district are all moving forward to study the issue and potentially ask voters to approve. This post from a Lehi City Council member has more information. Also see this Lehi Free Press article. 
• Orem, Pleasant Grove, Lindon, and Vineyard are watching the situation carefully as noted in this post from Lindon Mayor Lundberg, and this recorded meeting with Orem and Lindon city councils.

ASD MGT Study Final Slides

After reviewing the slides of the MGT report, here are some thoughts to consider:

• The majority of responses to their survey from in-person meetings were from district staff. Unfortunately, this means most of the in-person survey data gives very little real indication of how the voters in the district feel about a split. It also skews the data in favor of staying together, as most district staff feel a vested interest in the relative stability of less change.
• MGT failed to adjust their $200 million bond disparity issue. As pointed out in a previous blog post, MGT placed a $200 million bond on each district in each of the resulting options. Unfortunately, that means people are comparing a 3-way split - where a total of $600 million is added to the taxpayers burden - with a no split where there is only a total of $200 million bond (when the district actually tried to pass a nearly $600 million bond in 2022). This is misleading and if the board does not address and correct the misinformation, it calls into question the accuracy and legitimacy of the whole study because the public has been given false data.
• The summary points from the online survey pointed out that 33% said outcomes would worsen, but if you look at the data, 41% said educational programs would improve. Why did the summary point out the lesser negative number instead of highlighting that many parents feel outcomes would improve?
• The combined survey data is heavily weighted in favor of district staff. District staff make up a relatively small percent of the voters in ASD, so this survey is not a real indication of the general feeling of the public. Of course staff concerns should be taken into account, but what is the point of combining the two surveys when it obviously will favor the opinions of district staff?
• MGT appears to be recommending the board bring Option 2 to the ballot that would put Lehi and areas west into their own district. Any split would be better than no split, however, the data indicates that Lehi residents do not want to be part of the Eagle Mountain/Saratoga Springs district. If the district puts this option on the ballot, it is very possible that Lehi residents could kill the proposal, even if the rest of the district votes in favor of it.

Overall, the MGT study has been a major disappointment.

1. It misleadingly compared a $200 million bond in Option 1 with a $600 million bond in Option 4, making it appear much more financially beneficial to stay as one district.
2. The survey skewed results to favor the opinions of district staff over residents and taxpayers.
3. Many factors were left out of the study, including: needs of each part of the district in each of the options (new buildings needed, deteriorating buildings, administrative costs, etc)

In light of this, the preferable option moving forward is for city governments to create interlocal agreements to split the district on their own, as provided for in legislation passed this year. This would have the advantage of both making it easier to split because not all areas of the district would need to vote in favor of it, while also allowing communities to build something together. Cities would be wise to consider putting the Option 4 divisions on their ballots before the district puts forth an option that is likely to fail due to a skewed MGT report.

Big District = Big Admin Costs

One of the common arguments for proponents of large districts is that if you split, you have to double the administration. While there certainly would be a duplication of certain positions, not all positions would have to be copied to smaller districts, and certainly not at the same pay scale.

The Lehi Free Press recently published how 33 administrators at Alpine School District are compensated over $200k. This immediately begs the question just how many of these positions would have to be duplicated and at what pay scale for a smaller district. The reality is each new district would have a much smaller administration than the current district. Of course, the combination of administration for all new districts would likely be more than the current cost for one district, but not significantly.