That's what the Granite Board of Education was told Tuesday during a report of the impact on secondary schools if the district were divided.

"This has a major impact on this district. At what point do we get aggressive?" Paul Shepherd, director of planning and boundaries, who prepared the report, asked board members.

Board members agreed things do not look good and pondered what to do with the news.

"We've done some studies, but I think people need to know the impact it has on both sides," board member Patricia Sandstrom said.

According to the report, some key impacts to schools west of the Jordan River include:

* Taylorsville High School enrollment is estimated to increase to 2,102 from 1,742 students.

* Twenty-three additional relocatable classrooms would be needed to accommodate crowding in five schools. Ten of them would go to Taylorsville.

* Crowding at the junior high and high school levels in Taylorsville and Granger networks would be expected.

On the east side, the impact includes:

* Cottonwood High School going from 1,046 students to 629 students if the split happened and if students in Murray, who are currently in the Granite district, become part of the Murray school district.

* Possible closure of at least one high school and one junior high.

"This is not good for kids," board member Julene Jolley said.

Board member Terry Bawden asked district administration for some direction on how to react to the information.

"Can we do a resolution and say as a board this is our position: This is not good for kids and this is why," Bawden asked.

Superintendent Stephen Ronnenkamp suggested the board wait until Wikstrom Associates produces a final draft of the split study before developing a resolution on the issue.

"We are at a little of a disadvantage. We did not create the numbers. We only provided the raw data," Ronnenkamp said.

The board followed Ronnenkamp's advice, opting to wait for the final report from Wikstrom Associates, expected at the end of June, before putting together a resolution on where the board stands.

Cities on the east side of the Granite district paid Wikstrom Associates to conduct the preliminary feasibility study on a district split.

Granite administrators provided initial information to complete the study.

rorellana@sltrib.com