Education
Superintendent Smith updates residents on ASD split
Megan Wallgren | Lehi Free Press
Community members gathered to learn more about the upcoming division of Alpine School District into three new districts during a Let’s Learn Utah event at the Cedar Hills Country Club.
Alpine School District Superintendent Rob Smith was the featured speaker. He provided an update on the transition to the Aspen Peaks, Timpanogos and Lake Mountain school districts and answered questions from community members.
Candee Myers, a candidate for the Utah Senate District 21 seat, organized the event. Myers said she organized the non-partisan event after speaking with residents who had questions and concerns about the district split.
“As I’ve talked to people through my campaign, the school district seems to be a concern, and I didn’t have the answers,” Myers said. “I wanted to organize this event where people can come and listen to the speaker and enjoy the community. Sometimes, when people are upset, it’s because they don’t understand what is going on. Information calms. My hope is that we can get the facts and then move forward.”
Smith spoke to an audience made up of ASD parents and residents, as well as several officials from the three new school districts and elected officials from cities currently within ASD boundaries.
He said the transition from Alpine to the three new districts remains on schedule for major steps, such as dividing assets and liabilities and hiring three new superintendents, as Alpine prepares to cease operations when the three new districts begin full operation on July 1, 2027.
Smith said that when he came out of retirement to serve as Alpine’s superintendent during the transition, he identified four primary goals: maintaining student achievement, helping create three strong school districts, providing ample support for the new districts, and supporting employees through the transition.
“Student achievement is our moral compass and our contract with parents,” Smith said. “We have continued to provide for those students.” He said Alpine reached its highest post-pandemic success in several key measures this past school year. Those included 74% of third graders reading at grade level, 87% of junior high and middle school students on track for graduation, and a 93% district-wide graduation rate.
To facilitate a smooth transition to 3 new school districts, Smith said Alpine staff created a “playbook” for each department to help guide the transition and held joint training and learning sessions with new district school boards and staff.
The three new boards are already functioning and working with their respective superintendents, business administrators and other staff members. “We’re really proud of the work those three boards did,” Smith said. “We acted as a coach, providing information, but they’ve done the hard work to set things up.”
State law requires the new districts to make employment offers to district employees by January 2027. Smith said Alpine expects to complete that process by the end of the week, several months ahead of the statutory deadline.
However, many employees of the new districts are also currently filling roles in Alpine School District. Smith said some employees are working on transition responsibilities after hours and on weekends and receiving stipends for the additional work.
Smith said Alpine and the three future districts currently operate as one organization while staff members work toward the transition. That relationship will gradually change as Alpine winds down its operations and the new districts ramp up. “Alpine is one, the three are part of us, and we are part of them. We will support each other to keep us working as smoothly as possible through the transition,” Smith said.
Audience members had questions about the financial outlook for the three districts. Of particular interest was the per-student dollar allocation and how financial projections compare with actual numbers. Smith said the district will not have a complete picture until the current year’s budget is closed and the audit is completed, expected in early September; however, the district’s projections appear relatively close to actual figures so far.
The new boards will begin developing their own budgets in September or October using audited numbers as a starting point.
School boundaries are another significant issue facing the new districts. Individual school boundaries sometimes cross both city and future district boundaries, making boundary decisions particularly complicated.
Utah’s open-enrollment policies mean families can choose where their children attend school, Smith said, adding that district leaders do not control student numbers but can respond to enrollment trends.
In response to questions about possible future school closures or boundary changes, Smith said school boards for the new districts will have to address enrollment patterns as the new district takes shape. “The future district boards will ultimately have to determine how to address that challenge,” he said.
Future boards will also determine whether student-to-teacher ratios or other staffing decisions change as enrollment patterns become clearer.
Community members also asked how the split could affect special education programs and extracurricular activities.
Smith said each new district has already begun discussing whether programs will remain the same or whether individual districts will take different approaches. The districts will also have to consider growth, enrollment and available resources when making those decisions.
Smith said the community will need to give the new districts time to establish themselves before judging what comes next.
“Let the dust settle, get year one under, and then what happens next,” he said.
