The cities of Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Midvale and Sandy - along with the ski-resort town of Alta, the township of White City, and some unincorporated parts of Salt Lake County - joined forces to fund the study, now being finalized by three consulting firms.

Dividing the state's largest district could get complicated, and for now, questions abound.

"People are very interested to find out what the study says and are in favor of breaking off - if the data show it makes sense to do that," said Scott Bracken, a city councilman in Cottonwood Heights, an east-side city where two schools have been closed due to flagging enrollments.

Barry Newbold, in his 11th year as Jordan's superintendent, also is eager to view the finished document.

"We've had extensive interaction with the evaluators and have tried to provide them with the information they've asked us for," Newbold says. "I've been impressed with their questions, and based on that, I'm hoping their report will be thorough - examining both the advantages and disadvantages."

Cottonwood Heights City Manager Liane Stillman described the study's three focuses: dollars, programs and staff.

The Salt Lake City firm of Lewis Young Robertson and Burningham (LYRB) was tasked with assembling comprehensive financial data on how an east-west split would impact the old and new districts.

And Boulder, Colo.-based Western Demographics will provide an in-depth look at how the split would affect educational programs.

The third facet of the study, conducted by Sandy-based Center for Management and Organizational Effectiveness, examines the human-resource impact - the transitioning of teachers, staff and administrators into job-slots in a newly formed district.

"They'll be somewhat conservative in their approach," Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore predicts of the study's findings. "I'm sure it will show the costs will be more than we're anticipating."

Cullimore also expects to see a tax differential between the county's more-affluent east side and the faster-growing west side.

"But I believe it also will show that it can be done in such a way so the burden to the west side will be nowhere near what the Jordan School District has said," Cullimore adds.

Last November, the district forecast the need to bond for more than $750 million to fund school renovations and new construction through 2016.

Losing the district's eastern half would cause a big bump in property tax for west-siders, according to Jordan's projections. But, in January, preliminary LYRB figures indicated that burden could be lighter due to greater growth in west-side property values.

The participating communities have widely varied expectations of the study.

"I think the study will show that an east-side school district is viable, both from an operational and financial perspective. Then it will be up to the residents to decide if it means enough to them to form our own," said Sandy City Councilman Steve Smith.

With close to 93,000 residents, Sandy is by far the single largest stakeholder.

"No one group or person in Sandy has been for or against the idea," said Trina Klingler, the city's public-information officer. "They're all waiting to see what we find out."

So far, in Midvale - a diverse, central Salt Lake Valley city with about 30,000 residents - there has been little buzz about the potential split, said Mayor JoAnn Seghini.

"People don't know enough to get involved, and some say, 'Why mess with it when it's working fine,' " Seghini says, adding that "piecemealing one of the most outstanding school districts in the nation is not, in my mind, the best solution."

Seghini's concerns center on Midvale's older schools that need upgrades, and making sure critical programs remain intact. A significant number of Midvale students come from low-income households and qualify for free or reduced lunch. Midvale's Copperview Elementary receives Title 1 federal funding because of that.

Draper's burgeoning population - extensive residential and commercial development continue to populate this former farm town - would provide most of a new district's future growth.

"There's a lot of interest here," said Draper City Councilman Bill Colbert. "My gut feel is that the majority would support a division."

Colbert also serves on the state Board of Education, which gives him another perspective, he says.

"The state Legislature needs to look at how we can provide those construction costs in a more fair manner," Colbert said. "Otherwise, it's unreasonable to put that burden on" those in other parts of the district.

Up Little Cottonwood Canyon, tiny Alta - about 370 residents live there - joined the study to avoid becoming an island if its neighboring cities decide to split off.

"It's a tough question for us," says Alta Mayor Tom Pollard. "We fought long and hard to get a school up here, and the Jordan School District stepped up and provided that."

In its fourth year, their mountainside school has been a wonderful experience, Pollard says, and some residents are afraid it would disappear were the new district to be created.

Salt Lake County signed on to the study because White City and some other unincorporated land in Sandy would be isolated under the proposed split.

"Is it best for children and education across the county?" says county spokeswoman Nichole Dunn. "That's what Mayor [Peter] Corroon wants to know."

Draper and Sandy officials have requested a Dan Jones poll be conducted to find out which concerns matter the most to their residents.

"There's no easy solution, and it's going to get emotional," says Draper's Colbert, adding that everyone's best bet will be to "keep to the facts and keep it rational."

cmckitrick@sltrib.com

What's next

Participants hope to see a draft of the study within two weeks, and then be ready to go public with the final version the first week of May.

Following the study's release, officials plan to fast-track a series of town-hall meetings in each locale, followed by a 30-day public comment period.

After that, each city, town and county council needs to vote on whether to get the issue on November's ballot. Ballot language will need to be submitted to the state by Aug. 1.

Jordan School District facts

* Utah's largest school district

* 57 elementary schools

* 17 middle schools

* 10 high schools

* 2 technical centers

* 3 special schools

* 79,632 students

* 3,628 teachers

* 3,602 support staff

Source: Jordan School District Web site