Education
Aspen Peaks Board approves ASD asset distribution plan
Megan Wallgren | Lehi Free Press
Aspen Peaks School District board members voted unanimously to approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) dictating the division of assets and liabilities from the Alpine School District (ASD) among the three newly formed area districts at its June 11 meeting.
Members of the Timpanogos School Board approved the agreement on June 17, and the Lake Mountain School Board approved it on June 25.
“The unanimous ratification of this agreement by the new district boards is huge and speaks to the hard work done by really good people,” said ASD superintendent Rob Smith in a statement to the press.
Negotiations to split the assets were conducted by a team that included the superintendent, board president, and board vice president from each of the three school districts, as well as the superintendent and staff from ASD.
When submitting the MOU for board approval, Aspen Peaks Superintendent Joel Perkins said, “We need to express gratitude to the layers of detail and work done by ASD in order for us to be able to have this conversation. Hats off to the ASD team for their great work in making that happen.”
Perkins explained that according to state statute, geographically based assets transfer to the district in which they are located. Everything within the Aspen Peaks boundaries will fall under the ownership of Aspen Peaks, and it will be the same for the other districts.
The biggest negotiation points centered on assets and liabilities that must be divided proportionally among the three new districts. State law prescribes division based on the percentage or proportion of the student population in each area, and consensus was reached on which dates to use for that division.
Based on current student enrollment, the agreed-upon resource distribution percentages were established as follows: Aspen Peaks School District, 41.78%; Lake Mountain School District, 30.16%; Timpanogos School District, 28.06%.
Perkins said there were areas where negotiators deviated from that division when doing so better reflected actual obligations. He gave the example of accrued employee vacation liabilities, which would be allocated based on employees rather than student counts. “There were lots of common-sense agreements made in order to really move this forward,” he said.
The agreement ensures employee benefits and protections, allowing employees to maintain their vacation hours, post-retirement benefits, and associated obligations carried over to their new district.
Student activity funds and the Alpine Foundation accounts already assigned to a specific school or program will also remain with the district where that school is physically located.
APSD board president Diane Knight said, “All along, our goal has been for three strong districts moving forward, and this document represents a huge commitment from everyone involved to keep the needs of all students, no matter the district, front and center. Make no mistake. Each district faces unique challenges and circumstances, but the good news is we chose to work together to come up with an agreement that acknowledges everyone’s needs.”
Regarding the negotiating process, APSD board vice-president Amber Bonner said, “This was a big, big undertaking, and one thing I really appreciated was that there was a real focus on care for what is going on in all of the districts. We still want all students and all employees to be taken care of and to have what they need to be successful.”
Bonner said the negotiation committee was very mindful of avoiding a zero-sum mindset that could have led to fighting, which may have ended in arbitration or costly legal battles.
“I am really grateful that we were able to keep the needs of our students and employees at the top of our concern list and come to agreements that required everybody to give a little, but would get things going,” she said. “We hope that this is setting a tone for our employees also, that we care about what’s happening in the other two districts. We want all of our employees, as we are moving forward, to be doing their best to make sure that each district starts well.”
ASD maintains full responsibility for all assets until the official transition on July 1, 2027.
