Alpine School District approves boundary for new Lehi elementary school
Leisl Allen, of Lehi, reacts as members of the Alpine School District Board of Education vote during a meeting held by the board partially concerning a boundary proposal for a new Lehi elementary school Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at Snow Springs Elementary School in Lehi. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
A community member speaks to members of the Alpine School District Board of Education during a meeting partially concerning a boundary proposal for a new Lehi elementary school Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at Snow Springs Elementary School in Lehi. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Krista Hansen, of Lehi, speaks to members of the Alpine School District Board of Education during a meeting held by the board partially concerning a boundary proposal for a new Lehi elementary school Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at Snow Springs Elementary School in Lehi. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
John Patten, assistant superintendent of Alpine School District, gives a presentation of findings during a meeting held by the Alpine School District Board of Education partially concerning a boundary proposal for a new Lehi elementary school Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at Snow Springs Elementary School in Lehi. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Mike Cook, of Lehi, watches a presentation beside his wife, Stephanie, during a meeting held by the Alpine School District Board of Education partially concerning a boundary proposal for a new Lehi elementary school Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at Snow Springs Elementary School in Lehi. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Julie King, a board member, listens to a community member speak during a meeting held by the Alpine School District Board of Education partially concerning a boundary proposal for a new Lehi elementary school Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at Snow Springs Elementary School in Lehi. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Community members watch as a fellow community member speaks during a meeting held by the Alpine School District Board of Education partially concerning a boundary proposal for a new Lehi elementary school Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at Snow Springs Elementary School in Lehi. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Katie Koivisto, right, and Shiloam Chapman, both of Lehi, talk with one another during a meeting held by the Alpine School District Board of Education partially concerning a boundary proposal for a new Lehi elementary school Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at Snow Springs Elementary School in Lehi. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
John Patten, assistant superintendent of Alpine School District, gives a presentation of findings during a meeting held by the Alpine School District Board of Education partially concerning a boundary proposal for a new Lehi elementary school Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at Snow Springs Elementary School in Lehi. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Amber Bonner, a board member, talks with Dr. Mark J. Clement, board vice president, during a meeting held by the Alpine School District Board of Education partially concerning a boundary proposal for a new Lehi elementary school Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at Snow Springs Elementary School in Lehi. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
After weeks of contentious discussion, a new elementary school in northwest Lehi has boundaries.
The Alpine School District Board of Education voted Tuesday to choose Option B for the school’s boundaries, with busing guaranteed for students who live north of 2100 North and east of the Jordan River who will attend the new school.
Courtesy of Alpine School District
Northwest Lehi elementary school boundary Option B.
The western boundary will be Redwood Road, the northern boundary will be Club House Drive, eastern will be Interstate 15, and southern boundaries along 2100 North.
The vote was followed with parents from the Colony Point development expressing their displeasure with the decision, stating that their concerns were not heard or cared about.
“It was necessary for the board to make a decision they felt was best and they’ve done that,” said Scott Carlson, president of the board, in response to the responses. “They knew the option was there to postpone and they have chosen to make the decision we have.”
The board voted to move into a closed session following the vote and verbal outrage.
The yet-unnamed elementary school will open this fall at 2450 N. 3600 West in northwest Lehi.
One boundary option had originally been presented for the school. Two additional options were introduced earlier this month after safety concerns arose about the previous boundary options. The district introduced a new option, Option C, and renamed the options prior to the board meeting Tuesday.
The original proposal for the school would have impacted Springside Elementary School and Riverview Elementary School in Saratoga Springs, along with River Rock Elementary School and North Point Elementary School in Lehi. Another proposal that has since been eliminated from consideration would have impacted the boundaries of Snow Springs Elementary School in Lehi, where the board’s meeting was held Tuesday evening.
Courtesy of Alpine School District
Northwest Lehi elementary school boundary Option A.
The original option was renamed Option A for Tuesday’s meeting, with a new option, Option C, created to attempt to resolve concerns about previous proposals.
Courtesy of Alpine School District
Northwest Lehi elementary school boundary Option C.
Feedback on the proposals mainly centered with safety concerns about students walking around 2100 North to school, students passing other schools on their way to their new school and the potential for school boundaries to change again as growth continues in the area.
More than a dozen parents addressed the board Tuesday evening urging it to reject all three proposals.
Of the 855 responses the district received on an online survey about the boundary proposals, 176 answered they favored Option A, 198 favored Option B, 193 favored Option C and 288 answered that they did not favor any of three options.
Brandi Worle, who lives in the Colony Pointe development, told the board that her children currently travel .4 miles and go through the intersection of 900 North and 1700 West to travel to River Rock Elementary School. If they are sent to North Point Elementary School, she said their trip would be doubled in distance and that parents would add to the increased traffic already anticipated in the area because they don’t want their children crossing busy roads.
“I imagine that Colony Pointe will add to the volume increase because I won’t let my kids walk or bike on that route to school because that is too many lanes of traffic for my kids to get to school,” Worle said.
Multiple parents expressed they do not believe the district’s enrollment projections are correct and that enrollment will be higher than is anticipated..
“I strongly, strongly encourage you to relook at your numbers,” Shiloam Chapman said during the public comment section of the meeting. “Go be the boots on the ground, go meet the faces, ask them the questions.”
John Patten, the district’s assistant superintendent of educational services and K-12 said that no option would resolve every concern. He said a previous boundary option that set boundaries along the Jordan River was removed because it would have created a small enrollment size at the new school.
Patten presented information that stated the district expected 571 kindergarten through sixth grade students to come from the Holbrook Farms development when it is fully built out. The development currently has 293 occupied homes, with 2,000 set to be built.
Discussion on the boundary proposals started earlier in the day in the school board’s study session and continued into its business meeting.
During the study session, Mark Clement, a member of the Alpine School District Board of Education, said there is no guarantee the district will pass another bond to fund the construction of another elementary school in the area and spoke in favor of accepting a boundary proposal that would stabilize enrollment between the affected schools.
“This may be our chance to relieve these three surrounding schools for the foreseeable future,” Clement said.
He said it isn’t realistic to believe the area won’t see more boundary changes because of its rapid growth.
Board members voiced during the study session they were sympathetic to parents whose children have had to attend multiple schools in recent years and that they too were concerned about children walking along 2100 North to school.
Sara Hacken, a member of the school board, said she’d read emails and taken notes on the different points that have been made. She was not in favor of Option A.
“We have done everything I think we possibly could do to honor you and to make the very best decision we can and it is going to be very difficult because no one wants to go to the new school,” Sara Hacken, a member of the school board, said prior to the vote.
Sarah Beeson, a member of the board, said she had changed her mind about if she was ready to vote on Tuesday.
“I feel like I need to go back and do some things,” Beeson said. “I thought I was ready.”
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