First, local control of the district would be closer to the people.

Second, the correct data shows that financially it will work.

Third, more than likely other cities would look to join making the district even stronger.

In the end this conversation should be about how best to educate the children of Orem. Parents hold the prime role for the education of their children. Any decision that organizes closer to the parents is a good yes vote. I would encourage every voting resident of Orem to vote Yes on Prop 2.

Utah County Commissioner Thomas V. Sakievich: School districts, as with government organizations, should be large enough to support residents within them and still have the financial base to not burden them. School districts must have the ability to operate effectively and be responsive to those they serve.

The three school districts within Utah County have some of the brightest and finest men and women overseeing many public schools. As true for all organizations facing significant growth, we may be at time when the funding base exists to allow for the creation of an Orem School District to accomplish the goals envisioned by parents and residents.

As a result, I warmly support concluding the financial studies leading to the creation of the Orem School District.

Utah Sen. Keith Grover, R-Orem: The school children of Orem and their parents deserve a more efficient school district that is responsive to our community needs and standards.

I support local control and guidance of our schools to meet the unique needs of Orem.

The new Orem School District will be guided with local representation from school board members and a leadership team that will listen to what parents desire to help their students be successful.

Former Utah Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem: Property taxes paid by Orem families need to stay in Orem to benefit Orem students and Orem schools.

Former Utah Rep. Brad Daw: Dear neighbor, I fully support Orem separating from Alpine School District and forming its own school district. With 86 schools, Alpine is simply too big to fully focus on the specific needs of Orem residents. This point was made crystal clear to me while talking with some county employees recently. Their job is to provide badly needed health care services to low-income students in Title I schools. They praised the Provo School District for their supportiveness of the program.

Sadly, they expressed frustration at Alpine’s seeming indifference. They even implied that Alpine does not seem to think it has a poverty problem. From a district-wide perspective, it is easy to see why Alpine’s administration might reflect that attitude. Out of 86 regular schools and a handful of specialty schools, Alpine only has 9 Title I schools. 7 of those 9 Title I schools are in Orem. An Orem School district would certainly have the time to give Title I schools, along with many other Orem specific needs, the attention they deserve. For this and many other reasons I will be voting “Yes” on creating the Orem School District.

Former Alpine School Board member Wendy Hart: I am supportive of the Orem School District Split. As a huge proponent of local control, having a smaller district that is able to meet the specific demands of Orem citizens would be a good thing.

The west has large growth issues but fewer taxes that are collected to be spent on buildings. Orem is the opposite, larger property tax payments with fewer students.

Orem citizens tend to prize smaller class sizes and smaller neighborhood schools. Local control of schools is the best recipe for a solid education. I believe Orem citizens have an opportunity to make a difference in their school system by retaking local control through a district split.

Former Alpine School Board member Tim Osborn: Serving from (2007-2011) I watched phenomenal growth in the northern half of the district. Orem lost some representation on the board which was given to Saratoga/Eagle Mountain, who are now still growing at phenomenal rates.

Orem can vote to have the opportunity to bring back that representation to their control.

An 80,000 student district is too large for 7 members to have correct checks and balances against a large administration. When I sat on the board our budget ran around $600 million and that was a lot to worry about and shudder to even think about over $1,000,000,000!

I give my full support to the great citizens of Orem to form their own school district, apart from the Alpine School District.

Former Alpine School Board member Paula Hill: I represented the west side on the Alpine School Board for eight years and was in the struggle to balance the diverse needs of the different areas. Orem has their own unique requirements and should be allowed to pursue them independently.