Orem’s mayor and certain city council members have become overly concerned about Alpine School District. It seems they spend much of their time and energy attacking ASD. Even when nearly three out of four (72%) of Orem voters rejected their effort to split Orem into its own school district, they continue to think public schools are the main issue of importance in Orem. By no means am I diminishing the importance of our public schools! However, what vision do those same leaders have for Orem’s future? They have taken their eye off the ball, making Orem rudderless concentrating on vengeance against the school district. This has only hurt our Orem publics schools AND our community even more. Just look at the division it has created amongst Orem citizens pitting neighbor against neighbor.

With municipal elections coming up this fall, it is important to elect leaders who will focus on Orem and its critical needs like water, sewer, roads and supporting Orem’s exceptional employees. We want candidates that will work with and build positive relationships with Alpine School District Board members. We already have a school district board we elected to handle school issues. Let us not make it harder for them to do their jobs. The school district will eventually split.  Let the school board continue looking into this matter.

Please take time to vet the 13 candidates running for city council. It is time to move beyond the Alpine School District battles and focus on Orem issues. We need Orem City officials who will keep their eye on the ball and move Orem forward. We need reasonable, rational, collaborative leaders running our city.

Rachel Gonzalez, Orem

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