Splitting Alpine School District would be bad idea

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jul 27, 2003 by Sheldon Worthington

The Deseret Morning News article of July 1 titled "Alpine District may split in 3" purports that splitting the district will aid students. This is a bad idea that would have devastating effects on educational opportunities for Alpine School District students.

The research Rep. David Cox refers to for justifying splitting the district is based on a piece of research done in a state that is not remotely comparable to Utah. Cox and his supporters believe that smaller districts equate to higher test scores, less bureaucracy and more public input. What is known to improve test scores is smaller schools, smaller class sizes and effective instructional practices. Smaller districts do not mean smaller schools.

More tax dollars equate to smaller schools, smaller class sizes and teacher training. Smaller districts increase demands on limited public tax dollars. If Alpine School District were split into three districts, there would be a tremendous duplication of services, including transportation, maintenance, administration, support services, etc. An even greater economic disaster would be in the generation and disbursement of bond and leeway dollars. Besides dividing the district geographically, it would divide the district into the have and have-nots. The haves would be the Orem area, which generates 37 percent of the tax base. The have nots would be in Lehi and the surrounding communities with 17 percent of the tax base. Because of the rapid growth in north Utah County, these residents would face a tremendous tax burden to maintain current levels of education.

Although the Orem area would benefit in the short term, its tax base is steadily declining and is now 37 percent as opposed to being above 50 percent just a few years ago. Orem City Councilman Dean Dickerson complains that it is unfair Orem residents have to pay for the schools in the north end of the county. What Dickerson fails to recognize is the contribution taxpayers from the north end of the county made to the Orem schools when they were experiencing their growth.

Cox further argues there is little accountability with Alpine School District. The fact is there is more accountability now than ever before. Every high school is represented by an elected board member from its attendance area. Every school has its own community council mandated by the Legislature. Community councils have been empowered to make critical educational decisions in behalf of the children in their attendance areas.

Finally, Cox states that opportunities in local schools are only for the elite. I challenge Cox to validate his comment. There are numerous opportunities for students to be meaningfully involved at every high school, from athletics to performing arts to clubs to academic opportunities. Splitting Alpine School District would diminish educational opportunities due to the lack of funding.

The July 1 article concludes with equating the Columbine incident to the size of the district. This statement is sensationalism. According to National Association of Secondary School Principals, school violence is as likely to occur in a small school as well as a large school. The answer does not lie in smaller districts but in increased parental involvement and continued school improvement by dedicated teachers, administrators and parents. Collectively we are stronger as one district as opposed to three smaller districts, now and in the future.

Splitting the Alpine School District is a bad idea.

Sheldon Worthington is the principal of Lehi High School.