The vociferous campaign to cleave the Granite School District met an anticlimactic finish Thursday when the Salt Lake County Council - largely opposed to the referendum - declined to vote on the matter.

"I don't think there is any point having a vote on that today," said longtime split supporter Mark Crockett, conceding defeat.

That means the state's second-largest school district will stay intact - at least for now - despite east-side efforts to defect. It also means that Cottonwood High appears safe for another year.

Meanwhile, the drive to divide Utah's biggest school district, Jordan, rolls on.

The Legislature this week steered around the County Council, approving a law change that would require communities representing only 80 percent of a breakaway district's population to support a ballot question.

That move sidestepped the County Council - which represents only 4 percent of the population in the proposed Jordan district - and likely saved split-seekers from defeat. The council has leaned 5-4 against a Jordan referendum.

So while east-siders will decide the Jordan district's fate in November, the Granite division stalled indefinitely Thursday.

The council - which presided over too great a population in the breakaway Granite district to be affected by state action - has leaned against the proposal with at least six of its nine votes.

"The county has abused its power," said Shonnie Hays, a Mount Olympus Community Council member who supported the split. "The county has a duty to allow its citizens the right to vote and self-determination. That is basically what we have been denied."

But the Granite split is not gone forever.

Supporters vow to bring it back as early as 2008 after more study and possibly legislative action to equalize school-construction funding.

"There is still plenty of wind in these sails to keep it going," said County Councilman Jeff Allen.

His council colleague Jim Bradley, who objected to putting either split on the fall ballot, hopes the momentum continues.

A year from now, Bradley said, he may support a trimmed-down Granite.

"The idea of a smaller district has a lot of merit," he said. "But we need to do it with a great deal more thought than has been given it to date. It is not a dead issue for me, by any means."

The ripples of Thursday's non-vote spread with jubilation and dismay.

The Small School District Coalition greeted the Granite decision with disappointment. Research Director Tab Wimmer insisted that the fight isn't finished.

"This is all about the education of our children, not about east versus west or any other issue that has been raised," Wimmer said. "It's to provide the best education and have a positive impact on the education of both sides of the valley."

The decision lifted spirits in the Granite School District offices, where Assistant Superintendent Martin Bates remarked that the community is better served by a single district.

"We are heartened by what has been preserved," he said.

And it came with a sigh of relief to the Cottonwood High School Community Council, which galvanized hundreds to oppose a plan that might have closed their school.

"I'm glad we have the time to examine those issues more thoroughly and come up with the best solution," said chairman John Haglund, who hopes future proposals will better incorporate all the high school networks.

The County Council's decision comes as a personal disappointment to Crockett, who has shepherded the Granite proposal toward a November vote.

He understands the financial fears of west-siders, who could face a tax leap if their east-side neighbors defect, and said he gladly will wait for another year to get them resolved.

"There are so many people that wanted this very dearly," he said. "It is a good thing to pursue . . . If we have to wait awhile to ensure there isn't a financial impact, then OK. We'll wait and do what we have to do."

The concept of a smaller Granite also remains alive in South Salt Lake, Holladay and Taylorsville, where officials say they will contemplate a future break.

City councils in South Salt Lake and Holladay had voted to put the proposal on the November ballot.

And Taylorsville, which had vowed to sue if its residents had been cut out of a vote, recently began studying the prospect of joining with the defection forces.

Still, the extra deliberation might do the cause good, according to South Salt Lake City Councilman Bill Anderson.

"I have been troubled somewhat by all the scrambling we had to do to deal with some of the issues we faced as we dug into it deeper," he said. "There are reasons to take some time and deal with those in a good way."

jstettler@sltrib.com

cmckitrick@sltrib.com