Instead, the State Office of Education or a knowledgable appointed board should answer the questions: What is the optimum district size? How should overlarge school districts be split?

The state's huge districts - Jordan has nearly 80,000 students, Granite, 69,000, and Davis, 62,000 - are probably too big. Research shows districts of between 15,000 and 25,000 students can be more responsive to students and parents and still benefit from economies of scale.

But should district boundaries run east to west or north to south? Or should they meander to create districts more equal in size, property value and demographics?

Those questions are left unanswered by a year-old law that allows communities of a certain size to leave an existing district based only on a majority vote of the community's residents.

Several communities on the east side of the Jordan School District are considering voting to form their own district with an eye to boosting parental involvement and student achievement. District officials may, under an older law, ask the county to call a district-wide vote so west-side residents who would remain in the existing district would have a say.

Residents in both groups - east and west - have a personal financial interest that goes beyond what is best for children. A feasibility report shows that if the five cities and unincorporated areas break off from Jordan, taxpayers in the remaining district would have to pay for 25 new schools, while residents of the new district likely would see their property taxes drop.

An earlier report showed an even larger disparity between the tax burden for what would remain of a split Granite District.

A district-wide vote seems more fair than what the current law provides, but there is more to be considered. Dividing a district is complicated and should be overseen by an independent, dispassionate group that could call for data, analyze it and make an objective decision.

Giving such a group authority to divide districts when they reach a certain size makes more sense than letting voters carve them up to serve their own, often narrow, interests.