At issue is an interlocal agreement among Holladay, South Salt Lake and eastern portions of Salt Lake County to allow their constituents to vote this November on whether to break from the Granite School District to form their own.

Last week, Holladay's council tweaked the agreement to make minor changes to the new district boundary.

That amendment, introduced by Holladay Councilman Lynn Pace, would allow Cottonwood High School - part of the Granite School District but within Murray's city limits - to remain with Granite rather than getting swallowed into Murray, should voters approve the new district.

By keeping Cottonwood High with Granite, it has a better chance of remaining viable and keeping its doors open.

"We have communities very proactive about the small district movement, with one area holding out to save Cottonwood High," said South Salt Lake Councilman John Weaver. "And considering our situation, we should certainly be sensitive to that."

South Salt Lake's fervor to gain more local control by joining a small district stems from major changes the Granite district made to the city's cherished Granite High School in 2006.

"This would give them the option to maintain Cottonwood and continue to bus Taylorsville students over," Weaver continued. "I think this is a win-win situation."

Neighboring communities disagree. Holladay's council vote was 4-2, with two council members favoring a delay until 2008 to better address the fate of Cottonwood High and disparities affecting Granite's west side.

Earlier this week the Murray City Council released a statement that the small district legislation is flawed, leaving too many unanswered questions and unintended consequences.

Murray's officials also considered Holladay's amendment inadequate in addressing Cottonwood High's dilemma, as its population would still shrink due to the school's Holladay and South Salt Lake students who would become part of the new district.

Murray's council pushed for the Legislature to further address the problems of equity and for any public vote to be put off for another year.

South Salt Lake City Attorney Dave Carlson sided with Pace on the validity of the boundary amendment.

"Legally it can be done," Carlson said. "It's not a substantial change . . . so it wouldn't change the numbers in the feasibility study much."

Councilman Bill Anderson voiced concerns about delaying the vote for a year.

"People have been pushing this for a number of years and I don't want to lose that momentum," Anderson said, adding that he realizes people want to see more specifics concerning the new district.

Councilman Mike Rutter put Wednesday's council vote in perspective.

"All this talking - we really don't have much say," Rutter said. "Salt Lake County will determine what happens and we've all heard they plan to put it off until 2008."

Councilman Casey Fitts figured the County Council vote could still swing either way.

"It's still possible it could go in 2007. It's somewhat nice to let [Salt Lake County] decide," Fitts said.

The County Council is expected to vote on the amended interlocal agreement in late August or early September - in time to get the measure on November's ballot if necessary.

State lawmakers are also considering meeting in special session in mid-August to address equity issues.

cmckitrick@sltrib.com