Utah County voters will decide the fate of the Alpine School District in the upcoming election

SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah (KUTV) — Utah County voters will soon decide the fate of the Alpine School District in the upcoming election, although boundary shifts may not be so easy.

Will the district be divided into two or three districts, if it will be divided at all? Not everyone in the county can vote on these measures, and people in the central part of the county are voting on a completely different proposal than people on the west side.

In Saratoga Springs, Linda Webb put her ballot in the ballot box. In doing so, she had to vote yes or no on Prop 14, which would remove Saratoga Springs, Fairfield, Eagle Mountain and Cedar Fort from the Alpine School District.

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“I voted 'yes.' I have neighbors who have children in the district who said, 'Please vote yes, this will be good for our district,'” Webb said.

Some analysts say a school district must have “adjacent boundaries,” meaning that if people in the central part of the school district decide to secede, people on the west side would have no choice but to do the same.

If voters in American Fork, Lehi, Highland, Alpine and Cedar Hills decide to support their own split proposal, the people of Saratoga Springs and every city in the West would have to split by default.

Webb said: “I think that’s not very fair because then we don’t really have a voice. It depends on what they do.”

Other analysts disagree, saying the West Side split wouldn't happen if voters opposed it. However, Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson believes that if the central part of the county were divided, the west side would no longer be connected to the rest of the county.

“The west side would be separated from the rest of American Fork, in which case a school district would be created,” Davidson said.

People in Orem and Lindon cannot vote on this, even though they are also part of the Alpine School District.

“The argument that Orem and Lindon have no voice. . . They have a voice because of who they elected to their city council. Your city councilors have decided not to enter into an intermunicipal agreement,” he said.

How does the Utah County Clerk clear up any confusion that may be out there?

Davidson said: “We are conducting the election right now. We have contracts with the interlocal areas to conduct the elections on their behalf. But that is their responsibility.”

If there is indeed confusion about what counts as “adjacent boundaries” and whether people on the west side would be forced to separate even if they voted against it, the legislature could step in and clarify that situation.

Davidson estimated that both proposals for new school districts have enough support to be adopted.

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