But that doesn't mean the movement will reach its destination. It still could be derailed long before Utah's largest school districts lose wide swaths of their territory.

Here are barriers that remain - any of which could stop or at least slow the sprint toward splintering the Granite and Jordan school districts:

The Salt Lake County Council or Mayor Peter Corroon could say no: The nine-member Salt Lake County Council must decide by late August whether the division of Granite and Jordan belongs on November's ballot.

What makes the council's vote climactic is its potentially crippling impact on a public referendum. Without the county's nod, the proposed east-side districts would lose large tracts of unincorporated land that, by law, could not be excluded from the new school boundaries.

Council members remain divided about sending the proposed splits to voters. Four favor an election, three oppose it and two are undecided.

Mayor Peter Corroon says he generally favors a vote, but fears too many unanswered questions remain.

Corroon has asked the District Attorney's Office whether he could veto a council decision to call for a vote but has not yet received an opinion. The mayor insists his interest is purely academic.

"I'm not inclined to use it," he said.

But if he did pull out a veto, it would mean the district splits would require six council votes to get on the ballot.

The council will hold a public hearing Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at the County Government Center, 2001 S. State St. County leaders have not yet scheduled a vote.

West-siders could sue: If the district divisions make the ballot, Taylorsville vows to sue the County Clerk's Office to stop a public vote.

West Valley City, South Jordan, Herriman and Riverton have said they likely would join the suit.

These cities argue the district-defection law disenfranchises them by not allowing west-siders to vote on the issue - even though a split would boost their property taxes.

And the griping might not be limited to the west side: Several parents with students at Cottonwood High, which could close if Granite divides, plan to add their names to the plaintiffs list.

"I really don't like the only-we-get-to-vote concept. [It's] kind of the us-against-them attitude of people on the upper east side," said John Haglund, who lives in unincorporated East Millcreek and would get to vote on the creation of an east-side district.

Haglund, Cottonwood High Community Council chairman, plans to join the lawsuit, although he said parents are not being asked to kick in toward the legal fund.

If a lawsuit is filed, a state or federal judge could block a public vote.

However, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has said he believes the district-division law is constitutional. Earlier this year, a lawyer for the Jordan district took the opposite view.

The Legislature could change the law: Some legislators are calling for a special session during which they could tweak the law and pass new measures to more equally fund new school construction.

If that happens, some politicians believe the angst over district divisions will disappear. If it doesn't, deconsolidation may be doomed even if it does get on the ballot.

The proposed bill would reduce the financial burden on west-siders remaining in the divided districts because residents statewide would share all school-construction costs. In theory, if the district split and the bill passed, they would not pay exorbitantly more on their taxes to pay for new schools than east-siders would.

Voters could reject the splits: Even if the county and various cities agree to put the proposed Granite or Jordan splits on the ballot, that hardly guarantees their approval. Voters will get the final say.

Whether voters will sign off is anyone's guess. There have been no recent district-wide polls on the issue, though a survey of 405 east-side voters in Jordan this spring showed 61 percent "strongly favored" putting the issue on the ballot and 56 percent saw the district's size as "much too big" or "somewhat too big."

If most east-side voters approve either or both divisions, the actual splits wouldn't occur until 2009.

The logistics of actually dividing districts are outlined in the law, but many questions remain. And because no other district in the nation has deconsolidated, at least recently, there would be no blueprint to follow. And if voters say no, the push for smaller districts may not die.

"If it doesn't happen this year," said Cottonwood Heights resident Nicolle Bangerter, "we're not going to stop fighting."

jlyon@sltrib.com,

The law

The 2006 law permits cities with populations of 65,000 or more to create new school districts. Unincorporated areas and smaller cities can unite to meet the population criteria. Only residents in the area that wants to break away from a district are allowed to vote, though all residents of the old and new districts would see their property taxes affected.

Where the cities stand

* Jordan split: Alta, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Midvale and Sandy have voted to put the issue on the ballot. Up next: County Council in August.

* Granite split: South Salt Lake has voted to put the issue on the ballot. Up next: Holladay and County Council in August.