If voters were to approve the split, the folks who reside in Herriman would also end up in a vastly different school district - whether they want to or not. They don't think that's fair. Neither do we.

In fact, we believe the law that allows this uncontrolled breakup of the state's largest school district is not only unfair to Herriman but ill-considered and imprudent. No one fully understands the law's consequences, both intended and unintended.

Herriman has filed a lawsuit to stop the headlong rush to form small school districts and has asked the U.S. District Court for an injunction to halt the referendum. Good for Herriman. An injunction could allow time for a much-needed analysis of what this law means, both to taxpayers and schoolchildren, something that hasn't yet been done.

Herriman, a small but growing west-side city, charges that the referendum violates the equal-protection and due-process clauses of the U.S. Constitution because only the residents of the new districts are allowed to vote on the split. People living in Herriman and other parts of the remaining district have no say in the matter, despite how the change would affect them. The suit further claims that splitting the district could create an economic disaster for west-side residents. Those are all good points.

The lawmakers who crafted and voted for this law considered only one side of a many-faceted situation - the dissatisfaction of some parents with the bureaucracy of the state's behemoth school districts.

They recklessly ignored how the the headlong rush to break up large districts might affect academic standards and offerings, when the effect on students should have been their first consideration. The impact on taxpayers is still largely unknown. Legislators say they will consider ways to spread the cost of new schools among all taxpayers, but as things stand now, the residents of fast-growing west-side areas could face substantial tax increases.

Until lawmakers take all those factors into account, and adjust the law accordingly, Jordan School District should remain intact. Herriman's lawsuit may prevent a serious mistake that would be difficult to set right.