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PROVO, Utah (AP) -- The Orem City Council has been provided with a petition with 1,000 signatures gathered over the past two years requesting that the city form its own school district.
The group of parents making the request is hoping the city will take advantage of a new state law that allows cities to take proposals for creating new districts to voters.
This is the second time in two years residents of the Alpine School District have tried to split it. Utah County commissioners declined to put a new district on the ballot in 2004 after a feasibility study didn't recommend it. That proposal would have created a district, called the Pioneer School District, within the boundaries of Lehi High School.
Orem resident Barbara Petty said the Alpine School District is too big and overspends without explaining its actions.
"When school districts are too large, decisions are made that cannot serve all the needs of a diverse and large population," Petty said.
An Orem city district would include about 15,000 students, which would be a much more manageable size, Petty said.
The group has asked the council to approve a feasibility study and take the issue to Orem voters in November to avoid being lumped into Alpine's bond election for more than $200 million, also on November's ballot.
"Let us take responsibility for our city, which is the size of a huge school district itself," Petty said.
But other parents oppose the proposed split.
"I'm no apologist for the school district," said Kirby Glad. "I think there are many things wrong with it, but this is not the solution."
The Orem City Council could not vote on conducting a study Tuesday because the item was not on the meeting agenda. Petty said the study would take 70 hours and would cost $4,500.
"We could probably raise that from the concerned citizens we have," she said.
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Information from: The Daily Herald, http://www.heraldextra.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
