This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Posted: 4:55 PM- The Utah Attorney General's Office released an opinion today stating that there is a "substantial likelihood" that the school district division law, which allows only some residents of a district to vote, would hold up in court.
The opinion, requested by Rep. Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, may influence the final votes needed as politicians decide whether to put the division of the state's two largest school districts on the ballot this fall.
"It's really based on this idea that cities, as political subdivisions of the state, have a duty to their citizens," said Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.
A 2006 law allows cities to join together to create their own school district, if the residents in that new district area agree. Both Jordan and Granite school districts are facing possible division by groups on their east side.
Lawsuits are in the works from several west side cities that object to the fact that the law only permits those residents in the new portion of the district to vote. Because all residents of the district would be affected, critics believe their Fourteenth Amendment rights would be violated. jlyon@sltrib.com" Target="_BLANK">jlyon@sltrib.com