Boundaries protested
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Tuesday, January 9, 2007
By Lynze Wardle
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
lwardle@standard.net
Syracuse residents say school lines will separate city
FARMINGTON -- Chanting slogans like "We Want Unity," more than 50 Syracuse residents gathered in front of the Davis School District's administrative headquarters Monday to oppose possible high school boundary changes.
Most, like seventh-grader Dalin Moss, dislike proposed boundaries that would divide Syracuse residents between High School No. 8, scheduled to open in August, and Clearfield High School.
"We all just want to go to the same (high) school," said Moss, currently a seventh-grade student at Syracuse Junior High. "I think it is worth fighting for."
Wendy Wallace said it is unfair for residents to be sent to Clearfield High when their city tax dollars have gone toward building infrastructure to support High School No. 8 in Syracuse.
She said Syracuse residents are being sent to Clearfield High in an effort to balance socioeconomic status around the district, but said she questions why high-income areas of Clinton weren't sent to that school instead of splitting up Syracuse.
More than 200 Syracuse residents also attended a meeting Saturday to discuss the boundaries, said parent Debra Hunsaker.
She said sending some students to Clearfield High will fragment her tight-knit city, which already sees High School No. 8 as a local landmark.
The boundaries of all seven high schools in the district are being re-aligned to accommodate new growth and the opening of High School No. 8.
New boundaries, created by former superintendent Darrell White, were granted preliminary approval by the district's school board Jan. 2.
The district will accept comments on the boundaries until Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. District officials have said the comments will be reviewed, and the board could make changes to the boundaries before they grant final approval Jan. 16.
Syracuse residents are not the only ones concerned about the new boundaries.
The district has already received 513 letters and e-mails regarding the boundary study, said district spokesman Chris Williams.
In Layton, nearly one dozen residents who live in the Cherry Lane area and other parts of the city gathered Sunday night to discuss their boundary concerns.
Sending the Cherry Lane neighborhood to Northridge High School instead of Layton High School will hurt Layton High's already-decreasing population, said parent Brigit Gerrard.
The former Layton High PTA president said she is concerned that if students are taken from Layton High's boundaries, the school will not be able to maintain its offering of classes and extracurricular activities.
"We're already going down in numbers every year," Gerrard said. "It just doesn't make any sense."
Wendy Frampton said Layton High will lose a core group of supportive parents and active, successful students if the Cherry Lane area is incorporated into Northridge High boundaries.
Cherry Lane resident Laura Pedersen said she sent letters to district officials Monday stating her area's concerns. Because Cherry Lane was only affected by the most recent boundary proposal, Pedersen said, and not in any of the changes proposed last fall, the neighborhood was taken by surprise.
"That's why we are pulling together a meeting at the last minute," she said. "We were totally caught off guard by this."
This is the second time the district has been on the brink of approving new high school boundaries since the study was proposed in August.
The first set of boundaries was created by a committee of parents, administrators and city representatives but was thrown out after a group of Bountiful parents filed a lawsuit. The group claimed the boundary study committee violated the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act by holding closed meetings.
Second District Court Judge Michael Allphin issued an injunction on the committee's recommendations Nov. 16, preventing the district from approving them until the case was resolved.
Hearings to decide whether the meetings were unlawfully closed are scheduled to resume in March.
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