Jordan School Board Addresses Employee's Anxiety over Split

May 02, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) Anxiety about Jordan School District's pending split is starting to subside for employees of what will become the new Jordan-East district. Korban Lee, the Sandy City liaison to the east-side's education team, says current Jordan board members who will represent the new east-side district have eased employees' fears about what will happen to them after the split.

"They sent a letter to all the employees in the school district, reassuring them that they have no intention of laying anybody off, and they have every intention of retaining the salaries and current benefits that exist for all Jordan school district members," Lee says.

Furthermore, he says board members are working on an inter-local agreement with the Jordan-West district. This would allow teachers to transfer between the two districts, while keeping their seniority and salary, for five years following the split. Lee says this will give them time to consider in which district they'd prefer to work. Jordan-East's education team also started its second round of public meetings this week. Lee says parents attending the meetings asked about the search for a superintendent, dividing the two district's assets, and whether the new school district can have a less centralized structure with more parental control.

"Parents want to be more involved, they want to be more engaged in their kid's education," Lee says. "And right now, the parents are frustrated in that they feel like there isn't a way to get involved, or when they do get involved, their ideas and recommendations fall on deaf ears."

Two more public meetings are scheduled this month for residents of Alta, Cottonwood Heights, Midvale, Draper, Sandy, and those parts of Salt Lake County within the Jordan-East boundaries. The meeting May 7 is in the Brighton High School cafeteria at 7 p.m. On May 15, the education team will meet at Midvale Middle School, also at 7 p.m. Click here for more information about the Jordan School District's division.

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