That's just the route the Utah Legislature may travel.

Today, legislators will consider a change in the school-district-division law that would allow communities representing just 80 percent of a breakaway district's population to call for a referendum.

That could mean new life for a Jordan split, which suffered a staggering setback Tuesday.

The Salt Lake County Council refused to "pre-approve" a public vote, pending legislative action to equalize school-construction funding countywide. Instead, officials tilted 5-4 against the plan to divide the state's biggest school district.

The Legislature will decide today whether to sidestep the council.

"Everyone believed this was a great idea, but in the Legislature's haste, the threshold was unfortunately set too high," said Rep. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, the sponsor of the amendment.

The change would not affect the County Council's power to stall a proposal to dissect Utah's second largest school district, Granite. The county would represent too large a population in the new district, according to Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights.

County Council members took no vote Tuesday on the Granite split. But that proposal seems doomed with at least six of nine council votes opposing it.

"We ought to just put a stake in this vampire and kill it now," Councilman Joe Hatch said.

Hatch criticized attempts to circumvent the council and put Jordan on the ballot.

"If they didn't want the County Council involved in this decision," he said, "they shouldn't have passed legislation that gave us that responsibility."

Even Councilman Mark Crockett - a tireless supporter of smaller districts - said he wouldn't favor cutting the County Council out of the loop. He wants the split to succeed, but "in a way that still has integrity in the process."

City councils in Sandy, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Midvale and Alta already have agreed to a fall referendum. Until now, the final decision has rested with the County Council.

The Legislature's Local Issues Task Force recommended Tuesday the law change that would remove the council's last word.

"It's to help the voters have input so one small group doesn't stonewall everything," said Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland.

Salt Lake County Councilman Jeff Allen, who supports the proposed Jordan and Granite splits, emerged from Tuesday's meeting disappointed. Parents should have a say over their children's education, he said.

"I would have liked people to have the chance to be self-determining," he said. "It is one of our basic human rights."

But, for now, he conceded that the Jordan and Granite splits likely would fail - if left in the council's hands - even if the Legislature succeeds in balancing the tax burden of building and renovating schools.

A special County Council meeting is slated for 1:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss the splits. But Allen doubts his colleagues will swing in favor of a referendum on smaller school districts.

"It's done," he said.

jstettler@sltrib.com

jlyon@sltrib.com

* JORDAN SPLIT: Alta, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Midvale and Sandy have voted to put the issue on the ballot. Up next: Possible votes this week at the Legislature and County Council.

* GRANITE SPILT: South Salt Lake and Holladay have voted to put the issue on the ballot. Up next: Possible votes this week at the Legislature and County Council.

Another funding idea

Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, is proposing another way to balance countywide funding for building and renovating schools.

The current plan may produce more money per student in Salt Lake County than it takes to house a new student. So Stephenson wants to decrease the tax rate in the bill and change how the money would be distributed.

Just how that would financially impact Salt Lake City School District, which could lose $11.3 million under the current proposal, remains unclear.

"That's exactly why it shouldn't be done in special session," Salt Lake Superintendent McKell Withers said.