Formerly obscured by the high-wattage feud over Utah's voucher law, the other mega education issue on the November ballot for some voters just received an injection of cash and passion - all apparently thanks to the Jordan Board of Education's stand against the split.

Since the board voted last week to oppose the district's division, about $20,000 has poured into Citizens for Small School Districts, allowing the group to ramp up its efforts, the organization said.

"In the end, they'll have shot themselves in the foot," Nicolle Bangerter, the group's chairwoman, said of board members. "There's definitely a feeling now of people wanting to fund our campaign."

In June, the school board voted to adopt a neutral position on the split; some board members felt the vote misrepresented their views. That led to a new vote last week. Prior to that time, Bangerter's group had received about $1,200 in donations.

"Without any opposition that's public, there wasn't much fear we needed to do anything," Bangerter said.

At issue is the state's largest school district. Jordan faces explosive enrollment growth, particularly west of the Jordan River, requiring the district to focus more of its construction dollars on the west side. That decision has irritated many east-side taxpayers who feel their older schools have been neglected.

Thanks to a 2006 law allowing cities to break away to form new districts, residents of Sandy, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Midvale, Alta and an unincorporated area of Salt Lake County will decide in November whether they want to create a new, east-side district. Advocates say a smaller district would allow for more local control. Opponents argue too many questions remain about the split, especially its educational impacts.

An effort to stop the split by Herriman, one of the west-side cities that has no vote on the district's future, continues in court. After being denied by one judge, the city is appealing to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court in Denver. The lawsuit attempts to stop ballots from being cast or counted. Many west-side residents say their constitutional rights are being violated because only east-side residents are allowed to vote on the Jordan question.

In the final weeks before the election, an anti-split campaign by residents appears to be intensifying. Opponents who plan to distribute fliers and yard signs primarily on the east side want to make sure residents understand the consequences of their decision.

"What it's going to actually cost to start a new school district [is] being minimized," said Betty Shaw, an anti-split organizer from White City. "They keep emphasizing that taxes are going to go down and I don't believe it's going to happen. If it does, it's going to be very short term."

West Jordan residents also will decide in November whether to leave Jordan to create a new school district.

Yet many people are satisfied with the Jordan district, according to Melissa Johnson, a West Jordan city councilor.

"You don't see people picketing the school district meetings," she said. "You don't see people getting really upset in West Jordan anyway."

Johnson, who has publicly condemned the split, has seen more evidence of a grass-roots effort to prevent a breakaway West Jordan district. PTA moms call her and spread the word to their friends.

By law, the Jordan district can do little other than stay silent in the coming weeks. No public dollars can be spent to influence a ballot issue.

The campaigning must be done by everyone else.

"I get the impression Jordan School District would never have decided this on their own," said Dianna White, a Cottonwood Heights resident and split supporter. "I don't understand why looking at change or taking risk is so painful that people become venomous."

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* JULIA LYON can be contacted at jlyon@sltrib.com or 801-257-8748.