It is a committee made up of approximately 20 people, representing a cross-section of GSD leadership., including PTA and Granite Education Association. The PAC receives and then vets ideas for boundary studies. The director of Planning & Boundaries chairs this committee and makes recommendations to the GSD Board.

There are two studies. Because of overall declining population throughout the district, we will be studying various regions over the next 5-10 years. The two studies that have been approved for this calendar year are as follows:

1. Van Winkle/700 East Corridor Study – Potential consolidation of 0-3 elementary campuses along this corridor to help shore up the population in the remaining schools. We have three schools in this region that are sub-300 students.
2. Skyline/Olympus/Cottonwood High Network study – Because of changes to Cottonwood’s boundaries over the past several years (including the loss of the Taylorsville portion), in addition to overall population decline in our district, they have gone from 2000 students to around 1600. During reconfiguration several years ago, we intimated that once reconfiguration had been fully implemented, that the District would evaluate this area to ensure that all of these high schools have a robust boundary.

Steve Hogan, Director of Planning and Boundaries, who oversees the population analysis committee (PAC) and Ben Horsley, Chief of Staff, are leading the study.

It is a calendar year study with final decisions made in November/December. The timeline and process specifics are guided by state law and board policy. No boundary proposals have been developed at this point in the study. Specific proposals will be presented by early fall.

Any changes approved by the board to boundaries generally take place the following Fall. Any decision made by December 2022 would implement changes Fall of 2023. However, that will be up to the board based on PAC recommendations. The process is such that there is plenty of time for open enrollment permits to be filed after a final decision is made in November/December (between 6-8 weeks).

We are very cognizant of open enrollment and election timelines. We have utilized this process for many years and many previous studies. Both Steve and Ben have extensive experience in adhering to state law and board policy.

Based on current timelines, the soonest any change could occur (if any changes are even made), would be the Fall of 2023. Additionally, with open enrollment laws and plenty of capacity in our schools in this region, parents will already have ample ability to exercise school choice.

Utah is an Open Enrollment state. This means that students may attend any public school of their choice, as long as the school has the capacity, and the student is willing to provide their own transportation. Therefore, even when boundary changes are made, many students can and will decide to choose a school other than the one within boundaries. 

This means that the full impact of any boundary adjustments are not generally felt until several years after the change has been made.

District Memorandum on Open Enrollment

Granite School District Special Permits by School Year

Special Permits of Nearby School Districts

Special Permits of Nearby School Districts

IB is a school-based program funded at the school level. Therefore, Granite District does not consider moving the IB program as a viable option. IB could be created and started at other school locations depending on the desires of the school and community.

Davis Demographics is a K-12 Demographer that specializes in providing consulting services for school districts that want independent, third party data to help drive school enrollment projection decisions. GSD contracted with Davis Demographics a couple years ago. The results of their study confirmed what GSD has been documenting for many years now; that we are a district with a shrinking enrollment.

If a school that currently has a special program is closed, the district works to adjust the program to another reasonable location and/or works otherwise to accommodate the students.

Granite School District considers a school “small” when there are less than an average of three teachers per grade level. Some of the challenges we have documented over the years in these small schools include, but are not limited to:

• Split grade-level classrooms
• Lack of parental choice to increase student success
• Proven methods of collaboration are much less effective or even non-existent
• Reduced per-pupil funding impacts the ability to provide extra staffing and program supports
• Harder to maintain effective school community councils, PTA’s and other parent volunteer groups
• Teacher work-load concerns – fewer teachers and staff to fill the same number of committee assignments required for all schools

AMES is an independent charter school unaffiliated with Granite School District and Cottonwood High. Many AMES students do take 1-2 classes at Cottonwood, but they are not counted as part of the total enrollment.

Granite School District is generally disinclined to sell property. In instances when the facility is too old to be used or maintained, buildings could be razed, and the property maintained as a park by the city or county while the district retains ownership. In the event the board does decide to surplus a property, the local city or municipality has first rights of refusal to the property by state law.  

They include, but are not limited to:

• Student opportunities for success
• Enrollment and programming
• Contiguous boundaries
• Transportation issues
• Safe Walking Routes
• Feeder Patterns
• Fiscal considerations
• Long-term impact on communities

Yes. Additional programming and marketing opportunities are currently under consideration at low enrollment schools.

No. State law requires both districts to initiate district consolidations or changes. And neither Granite nor Murray have shown interest in this idea. Murray District in particular has little incentive to consolidate as they have a broad business tax base with a smaller residential component that invariably provide a robust property tax base in which to fund their schools. This would be diminished significantly if they were to consolidate with Granite District. The benefits of “economies of scale” that Granite enjoys are not likely incentive enough as their students already have access to all levels of programming (including the GTI) within our district through open enrollment laws.

Many individuals in these respective communities have requested that we work to diversify school populations by adjusting boundaries based on socio economic status (SES or poverty) and/or ethnic makeup. The PAC and District are primarily concerned with ensuring that ALL students have equitable access and opportunities to a comprehensive educational experience. Boundary adjustments are not the only method of achieving this goal. The PAC and District will evaluate any and all avenues that will ensure this access for our students (not limited to boundary adjustments).

As a district we are already pursuing regional studies throughout the district, over the next 5-7 years. In the past, the district has transported students (at significant cost and great distance) to help offset low enrollment schools. As we have moved out of a high growth era, we are no longer comfortable doing so. We transitioned Taylorsville students back to their community school several years ago with the philosophy that this was in the best interest of our students and families and that transporting students across the district is not a good educational practice.

Yes. The Planning and Boundaries department monitors new residential development on a regular basis.

Declining enrollment is an issue not just for Granite School District but throughout many parts of the country. In Utah we are being affected especially hard along the East Bench of the Wasatch Front. This has even been noted in several recent news articles. Salt Lake Tribune Article, May 2022

The reasons for the decline are a combination of declining birth rates, a maturing population (particularly on our east side), student mobility, and the increase in charter school enrollment, among other factors.

It is a committee made up of approximately 20 people, representing a cross-section of GSD leadership., including PTA and Granite Education Association. The PAC receives and then vets ideas for boundary studies. The director of Planning & Boundaries chairs this committee and makes recommendations to the GSD Board.

The purpose of this study is to analyze elementary school enrollments along this corridor and consider options (including boundary adjustments and 2-3 school closures) to enhance educational outcomes and better serve the students attending these schools. 

They include, but are not limited to: 

1. Student opportunities for success 

2. Enrollment and programming 

3. Contiguous boundaries 

4. Transportation issues 

5. Safe Walking Routes 

6. Feeder Patterns 

7. Fiscal considerations 

8. Long-term impact on communities 

Granite School District considers a school “small” when there are less than an average of three teachers per grade level at most grades. Some of the challenges we have documented over the years in small schools include, but are not limited to: 

1. Split grade-level classrooms 

2. Lack of parental choice to increase student success 

3. Proven methods of collaboration are much less effective or even non-existent 

4. Reduced funding, which is per-pupil, impacts the ability to provide extra staffing and program supports 

5. Harder to maintain effective school community councils, PTA’s and other parent volunteer groups 

6. Teacher work-load concerns – fewer teachers and staff to fill the same number of committee assignments required for all schools 

Declining enrollment is an issue not just for Granite School District but throughout many parts of the country. In Utah we are being affected especially hard along the East Bench of the Wasatch Front. This has even been noted in several recent news articles. Salt Lake Tribune Article, May 2022 
 
The reasons for the decline are a combination of declining birth rates, a maturing population (particularly on our east side), student mobility, and the increase in charter school enrollment, among other factors. 

Yes.  The Planning and Boundaries department monitors new residential development on a regular basis.

Granite School District is generally disinclined to sell property. In instances when the facility is too old to be used or maintained, buildings could be razed, and the property maintained as a park by the city or county while the district retains ownership. In the event the board does decide to surplus a property, the local city or municipality has first rights of refusal to the property by state law.   

A baseline for building capacity starts with number of classrooms multiplied by the average number of students per classroom.  However, a building’s true capacity is determined by many more variables that are considered on a school by school basis.   

If a school that currently has a special program is closed the District works to adjust the program to another reasonable location and/or works otherwise to accommodate the students.  

We encourage everyone to use our Comments and Feedback form to make suggestions/provide feedback to the PAC and Granite School Board members. Or if you are unable to access the link, email feedback to boundaries@graniteschools.org  

– Academic achievement across all subject areas
– Proficiency in the DLI Language and in English
– Enhanced intercultural understanding through cross-linguistic and cross-cultural encounters.

No students are required to participate in dual immersion.

Only students who are enrolled in the DLI classes will be learning the content in Chinese. All non-DLI students will continue learning in English.

DLI would be in addition to the general education program. Participation in DLI would be a parent/student decision.

Granite School District has a solemn obligation to all students. The basis of this study is to ensure resources and educational opportunities for all.

There are some state assurances regarding DLI that must be followed; however, schools have flexibility to integrate DLI and traditional students in a variety of ways that meet the needs of the individual school.

DLI students entering junior high have the option to continue the dual immersion program and the DLI class does use their elective option. However, this is no different than a student who chooses to take another world language as their elective in junior high. This is an individual student/parent decision, based on which classes will best meet the needs of the student.

Students can enter dual immersion in first or second grade. If another cohort starts at Oakwood in the 2023-24 school year all Oakwood students in kindergarten would be eligible to apply for the program. If there are more applicants than space available in the first-grade program, a lottery would be held for the available spots in the first grade. Students could be added to the second grade. If there were more applicants than space available, a lottery would need to be held for the openings in second grade.

No. Dual immersion would not push students out of Oakwood. Dual Immersion schools have DLI classes and traditional general education classes in the same building. The students and teachers are part of the community at each grade level. Children attend recess together and other activities such as PE and art together. DLI and general education teachers work together as a grade level team.

Dual Immersion classes in 1st grade are typically higher in enrollment to compensate for the attrition that will occur with students moving out of the school and DLI program. When the school size is sufficient to adequately support a DLI program, class sizes generally remain a reasonable size at each grade level. When necessary, the DLI delivery model can be adjusted to minimize the impact on the general education program.

After a decision has been made by the Board, and general class sizes are projected for next year, GSD will evaluate the need for, and degree of, support.