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SALT LAKE CITY -- Some parents in the Jordan School district aren't happy with the way the district has been split. After months of fighting over who should get what, a panel has finally decided how to divide the assets of the old Jordan School District.
Assets like buildings and vehicles will be split geographically; cash will be split on a per student basis.
While the split sounds fair and the district is happy with the decision, many of the parents on the west side of the Jordan School district are upset.
We spoke with several parents as they were dropping off their children at Riverside Elementary School in West Jordan Thursday morning. Nearly all of them said while they didn't want the district to split to begin with, they thought the division of the assets seemed fair. The problem they had was that they never had a voice in the matter.
Parent Jennifer Patino said "We over here on the west side had no chance, no input, and no say, it was just like a done deal."
Jonathan Ward said, "I wish they wouldn't have split it in the first place. I think it's a huge waste of money. But they split it up, it's fair, and they did the best they could."
The split has been a two-year process and one that has frustrated parents living on the west side of the district. Wednesday's announcement of splitting assets geographically and funds divided per student just added to Penny Kemplinger frustration. She said, "We don't have as many funds because Sandy is richer, but we have more kids here and that's why they got mad. Because West Jordan is growing and Sandy is not."
A panel decided that all property in the new Canyons School District will stay there, and the property in the old Jordan School District will remain there. The same goes for furniture and district vehicles.
As for the money, the panel split up the cash on a per student basis, with the Canyons District getting 41 percent of the funds and Jordan District getting 59 percent.
Ralph Haws, Chairperson of the West Side Transition team, said, "We're pleased that the arbitration panel has reached a decision. The panel's decision is focused on the needs and welfare of the students; we believe that is the proper focus at this time."
The districts have also agreed to share some facilities like the Jordan Tech Center and Valley High School.
While parents say keeping those facilities available to both districts is good, they still feel like no one asked how they felt about it, and say a pending lawsuit that violated their right to vote on the splitting decisions should go forward.
"I agree with the lawsuit, actually. We didn't have a voice whether we should or shouldn't be split, whether we should pay more or not. I think there should have been more representation on the west side," Ward said.
If the lawsuit in the 10th district court of appeals goes forward, there is a chance that all of the progress made during the past two years could be undone.
All the parents we talked to said they would hate to see all that time wasted but say what the district did was not fair, and that they should have had a vote.
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
