Candidate Peterson outlines 'erase all boundaries' approach to new district boundaries and leadership picks

Emily Peterson, an incumbent Alpine School District board member and candidate for the new Timpanogos‑area district, said early priorities for the new district should be staff selection and a careful, community‑guided approach to redrawing boundaries and placing programs.

“We just need to erase all the boundaries and start over again,” Peterson said, describing a reset she called the “mother of all boundary changes.” She said boundary work must account for program locations — dual‑language immersion, advanced learning (ALL), behavior units and autism classrooms — and cannot be solved by simply moving students between buildings.

Peterson said the new district will need to decide grade‑configurations (for example whether to move freshmen into high school), manage facilities needs such as PE space and portables, and make program placement choices that preserve neighborhood school culture. She said those decisions have cost implications and must be coordinated with principals and operations staff she has already met.

On dividing assets with Alpine, Peterson said many resource questions (portables, buses) fall into existing code or are manageable, but she warned that if negotiations become adversarial the dispute could move to arbitration and generate legal bills. “If it does turn ugly, then it goes to arbitration and we have to pay lawyers,” she said, adding she would prefer to “figure it out as adults.”

Peterson said the new district should seek a superintendent who is open‑minded and community oriented, able to work through the “puzzle” of boundaries and program placement with stakeholders.