Voters will decide whether to split Alpine School District on the November ballot

LEHI — After a long period of discussions, debates, studies and public comment, six cities voted Tuesday to include the issue on the November ballot: whether to split Alpine School District or not.

City councils in Alpine, American Fork, Cedar Hills, Draper, Highland and Lehi moved unanimously to let voters decide in November whether to split the district and create a new one. The new district is temporarily being called “Central School District.”

If voters conclude they want a split, the official name will need to be approved, and a new board would be elected. The board would make decisions on things like taxes, which the Alpine School District has shown a history of raising consecutively.

Previous debates over a 45-day public comment period addressed many issues and raised concern among families who were unsure if the resources their students require would be available to them should the split move forward.

On the other hand, splitting the district targets a goal to “improve decision-making, more equitably distribute resources, provide smaller classroom sizes and reduce the need to increase taxes,” according to the city of Lehi.

The school district as it is overflows at over 84,000 students — the largest in the state.