In the latest twist on the school district division debate, the board would rely on a section of Utah law that permits all voters to participate - not just those who live in the areas that would break away.

East-side municipalities, including Sandy, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Midvale, Alta and an unincorporated area of Salt Lake County, are discussing the possibility of splitting from the Jordan district. A decision on whether residents will be asked to vote on the issue next fall must be made by Aug. 1. City councils are currently debating the issue.

"I'd say the majority of the board is in favor of allowing everybody to vote," said Jordan board President J. Dale Christensen.

If everyone is allowed to vote on the issue, a possible lawsuit on the unconstitutionality of the law could be avoided, he said. The district recently sent a letter to political and education leaders about the possible unconstitutionality of splitting the district without a district-wide vote.

But Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore is skeptical the various deadlines in the law could be met - if the Jordan board chooses to move forward.

"I think it's an ill thought-out approach to accomplish their objective of letting everybody vote," he said. "I don't think they can satisfy statutory requirements under a district-initiated split and get it on the ballot this November."

Cullimore raised the question of whether the district would have to take a position on the split by making the request.

What the County Council would likely wrestle with is whether to follow an older version of the law. More recent law says only voters in the affected areas can vote.

"They would be asking us to ignore what the Legislature has done recently in favor of some earlier law," said Mark Crockett, the council chairman. "I don't know how eager we would be to circumvent what is a pretty clear legislative intent at the moment."

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