HOLLADAY, Utah — The Granite school district is set to close three elementary schools at the end of the school year.
Granite School District Spokesperson Ben Horsley said the student population is diminishing, the district losing around 8,000 students in the last decade and 1,200 in the past year alone.
School leaders conducted a 10-month-long study of 9 elementary schools on the west side of the district and found Twin Peaks, Spring Lane, and Millcreek had some of the fastest declining populations.
The board voted unanimously to close the three in Tuesday’s night board meeting, a decision which has some parents of students at the schools feeling upset and disappointed.
“It was a huge gut punch in September when we were told we were on the list of possibilities to close by the end of the school year,” said President of Millcreek PTA April Flores.
Flores said she worries about the transition for students and staff, many of whom are Latino when it comes to feeling welcome in a different space with a different dual Spanish language immersion program.
“Our families were really upset because a lot of families chose Mill Creek because of the diversity and the DLI program,” said Flores, “So when we were told that our program would transition to Penn, you know that was a concern because Penn’s 80% white.”
A spokesperson for Granite School District Ben Horsley said diversity and transitions for students were at the forefront of the conversation when analyzing which schools to close.
“Obviously, diversity and at-risk populations were a significant portion of our study. We spent 10 months studying this. And we’re doing what we feel is the least impactful to the overarching community,” said Horsley.
At Spring Lane Elementary, former teacher and mother of three Rhiannon Longstaff said she is excited for what the news brings.
“I encourage the plan,” said Longstaff, “The way that we fund schools by property tax or by general taxes in general, schools are funded by how many students they have. And Spring Lane is a dwindling population.”
She said she thinks by bringing more students into one place, there will be opportunities financially and socially for students and staff to thrive.
“Because there are not as many students, then the school has a difficult time affording teachers,” she said, “And so I think it’s great that we can go to Oakwood. Oakwood has a fantastic community.”
As for Flores, she said, “There are lots of hurdles for families to overcome, but she is hopeful the communities will come together.”
“We’re trying to smooth that transition and tell our families, ‘Hey, we can still be a family. We can still move together,’” she said, “And that will help the imbalance. Penn will become more diverse. So we can benefit from Penn, and they can benefit from us. And I honestly think we can become a powerhouse.”
Horsley said the district will work to place the teachers at the schools in openings throughout the district but they will also need to hire additional teachers.
