It is a committee made up of approximately 30 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 in Areas 1 & 2 Map of Areas 1 & 2 and consider options (including boundary adjustments and school closures) to enhance educational outcomes and better serve the students attending these schools.

The purpose of this study is to analyze elementary school enrollments in Areas 1 & 2 Map of Areas 1 & 2 and consider options (including boundary adjustments and school closures) to enhance educational outcomes and better serve the students attending these schools.

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

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:

• Split grade-level classrooms
• Lack of parental choice to increase student success
• Proven methods of staff collaboration are much less effective or even non-existent
• Reduced funding, which is per-pupil, 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

Declining enrollment is an issue not just for Granite School District but throughout many parts of the country. 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 , student mobility, and the increase in charter school enrollment, among other factors.

Yes.  The Planning and Boundaries department works with local municipalities and monitors new residential development on a regular basis.

Granite School District is generally disinclined to sell property. Granite often chooses to place other district programs and operations in closed schools. The district continues to maintain the building and property to safe community standards. In instances when the facility is too old to be used or maintained, buildings could be demolished, 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” (sell) a property, the local city or municipality has first rights to purchase in accordance with state law.  

A baseline for building capacity starts with the 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. 

Demographic data for each school is reevaluated each year. If Western Hills and Silver Hills end up combining most of their current populations, the GSD Title I Director and his committee will be tasked with assigning Title I funds as federal statute dictates. The State Board of Education has indicated that using the most recent data from the October 1, 2023 statewide enrollment counts may help qualify Silver Hills to receive appropriate funding with the start of the new school year in the fall of 2024.

No. More students mean more teachers/resources. Teachers are assigned on a per student basis. GSD elementary school teachers are allocated on a student to teacher ratio of 27.25 students per teacher. More students equals more teachers.

We have evaluated the traffic patterns at 5600 West and Mountain Men Drive under the pedestrian bridge. We have also spoken to the crossing guard at that intersection, who has been at that location for many years now. She reported that she has never seen a student attempt to cross east or west at that location. We have observed that approximately 50 students (out of around 100 who live east of 5600 West) currently use the walking bridge. One of the reasons that PAC made this recommendation is that the infrastructure for safe crossing is already in place, an advantage many of our schools do not enjoy. PAC would not make a recommendation that they didn’t feel was safe. The data indicates that this is a safe crossing.

Almost without exception, teachers and staff will still be employed by GSD. Human Resources will work with each employee to determine the specific placement.

Based on GSD’s Facility Condition Index (FCI), Silver Hills is considered a better long-term solution in which to educate students. Factors such as age of the building, indoor air quality and seismic standards are among the main factors included in this conclusion.  Facility comparison      

No.  With this proposal, the portion of Silver Hills that has been feeding into Jefferson Jr. will become part of Beehive Elementary boundary, and therefore continue to feed into Jefferson Jr. Silver Hills will then become a split feeder between Kearns Jr. (the current Western Hills area) and to Kennedy Jr. (where the bulk of current Silver Hills students attend). In other words, everyone will keep their current secondary feeders.

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