Education
School district split interlocal group tags new name, district assets list as split priorities
Megan Wallgren | Lehi Free Press
Mayors and city council members from Lehi and surrounding communities met in February to discuss next steps for the creation of a new school district, currently referred to as the Central District, approved by voters in November.
The Interlocal Agreement Board hoped to identify their role and priorities in organizing the new district. “There has to be some decisions made. We have a very short time to make them. We’re going to be electing a board, and we need to set them up so they can hit the ground running,” said Lehi Mayor Mark Johnson.
Johnson said the committee feels behind in working toward the split. “We got across what we thought was the finish line and realized that wasn’t the finish line.”
Among the priorities identified was finding a working name for the new district. A public survey in late February received 1139 responses and included 465 unique names. The temporary name has yet to be chosen from among the responses. The committee can operate under a temporary name, but the new school board will choose a permanent name.
The board said the name should unify all six cities and reflect their communities and schools. The names Timpanogos and Lake Mountain have already been selected by the South and West districts, respectively.
Key players in the Jordan and Canyons school district split addressed the committee to talk about first steps.
Former Jordan School District board member Tracy Cowdell was heavily involved in the split between Canyons and Jordan School Districts. He suggested that the interlocal group begin work quickly with the county to configure the boundaries of the new school board district in a way that makes sense to the communities involved.
Utah statute requires that the new school board districts be delineated by April 1. The Utah County Commission will vote on maps for the three new districts on March 26.
Cowdell also suggested hiring a transition team to do the day-to-day work. “Hire a transition team early to take care of things, to take the phone calls, to get out with the public, to meet with the employee groups, to hold public information meetings and focus groups,” he said.
Dr. David Doty, the first superintendent of Canyons School District, told the board, “You need to articulate a vision. It’s not going to be your ultimate say in what it all looks like, but you need to set a baseline for when that new board and superintendent come in.”
The filing deadline for school board candidates is June 18 by 5 p.m. Primaries will be held Aug. 12 and school board elections will be Nov. 4. The new school board members will take office in January 2026.
Doty identified getting a report from the existing Alpine School District detailing its assets and liabilities as another priority. This helps ensure that resources are divided fairly during the split. “That division of the assets and liabilities was absolutely the hardest part of this whole thing,” he said.
Interlocal board members discussed hiring a PR firm to create assets for the new district after picking a temporary name. This would include creating new branding with the name, a website update, two to three press releases and continuing social media management. After the assets are created, city communication departments will provide public outreach.
The committee also approved contracting with consulting firms KTC and 360 Consulting to shepherd the interlocal members along the split process. They have been tasked with creating a list of things that need to be accomplished before handing the reins to the elected boards.
Committee members also discussed the financial aspects of the transition process. Mayors and city councils don’t want to foot the bill. Some cited their cities’ small size, saying they can’t afford the budget hit. “We’re the largest city, and it’s still a financial burden, so we all have that same consideration,” said Lehi Mayor Mark Johnson.
The group is looking for direction from SB 188, the bill addressing the creation of new school districts and outlining the transition process from existing to new districts.
SB 188 addressing the creation of new school districts and the transition process from divided to new school districts passed both the house and the senate and is expected to be signed into law. The bill provides for reimbursement to municipalities, covering expenditures associated with transition and start-up costs for new school districts.
Lehi City Council Member Heather Newall told the committee at a Feb. 25 meeting that the new district expects to receive $60 per student on Jan. 1, 2026, and Jan. 1, 2027, from the divided district, which is roughly $2.1 million to the Central District. She said the new district will also receive a portion of unassigned reserve funds allocated in proportion to the student population. That amount is yet to be determined.
SB 188 also stipulates boards of the newly created districts first try to solve disputes through arbitration before taking legal action.
Mayor Johnson said the interlocal board’s goal is to create a good framework for the new district leadership to work from. “None of us signed up for this job. When [the new board] gets elected and take their chairs in November, we want to hand it to them,” Johnson said.
