Jordan-West Transition Team Considers Second Proposal to Split District's Assets

May 14, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) The Jordan-West transition team is slated to consider Wednesday morning a second proposal to split the Jordan School District's assets. How to determine the value of the district's schools will likely remain a point of contention, forcing the team to decide between mediation or binding arbitration.

"Mediation means that we have to be wiling to give up something. And the question will be for the West-side team: What are you willing to give up?," asks Ralph Haws, chairman of the Jordan-West transition team. "If your position is that we're not willing to give millions of dollars to the east-side and then turn around and raise our taxes, then there's no sense in going to mediation."

Haws says binding arbitration is also an option, though not a popular one. Arbitration is costly, he says, and the teams will be bound by law to comply with the arbitrator's decision. Arbitration is on the agenda for today's Jordan-West meeting, as is a discussion about re-assessing the schools in the district to determine their current market-value.

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