Parents and teachers urge board to pause Area 5 boundary study as PAC recommends Morningside closure

Dozens of parents, teachers and community advocates urged the Granite School District Board of Education on Oct. 7 to pause and revisit an Area 5 boundary study after the district’s Population Analysis Committee (PAC) recommended closing Morningside Elementary and consolidating nearby schools.

Speakers at the public-comment portion — including Sarah Harmon of Eastwood and multiple parents from Morningside —said the PAC recommendation relied on incomplete data and would disrupt students’ transportation, programs and neighborhood schools. “This year, Granite District failed to strictly follow the new truth in taxation law and the district lost nearly $18,000,000 of tax revenue,” Sarah Harmon said during public comment, arguing the district needs better, verifiable data before closing schools.

The PAC presented a status update to the board during the meeting and emphasized that the item before the board Monday night was informational only. The committee’s recommendation released Sept. 2 proposes combining Eastwood and Oak Ridge boundaries, relocating some attendance areas to nearby schools and converting Morningside to a French DLI site under the PAC proposal. PAC members told the board they will revisit several parts of the proposal —…