When that relationship is threatened, the typical - and understandable - reaction is to fight. And that's exactly what parents did when the Granite School District proposed changing the network of its east-side schools, and closing some schools, to balance the district's budget.

We sympathize with those who will be most affected by the school board's final decision to close Canyon Rim and Meadow Moor elementary schools and to restructure Granite High School. They undoubtedly feel disappointed and may also feel unfairly singled out to absorb the impact of district growth and population shifts. But taking the board's decision personally can only lead to divisiveness and bad feelings.

The reality is that, aside from the emotional attachment people feel for their schools, there is a hard bottom line to education in Utah. The Granite board, somehow, had to reduce the $3.4 million cost of maintaining 8,700 empty seats across the district.

There is only so much money to go around - we believe not nearly enough - and Granite's tight budget dictated making changes in neighborhoods with dwindling enrollments or cutting programs and reducing teacher benefits districtwide.

Is the board's decision well-reasoned and fair? We believe so. Will it prove to be the best decision in the long run? Only time will tell. Utah's school system is dynamic, with population and economics constantly shifting. In the years ahead, more decisions will have to be made, and some will be heart-wrenching for the people directly affected.

Those whose beloved schools and programs were spared this time may be the ones called on to sacrifice next time.

We hope parents caught up in the Granite school-closure debate will put wounded feelings aside and continue their remarkable involvement with the district's schools - for the children's sake.