By Shauna Lund, Iron County School District
Only one parent spoke at the public hearing for a boundary proposal that impacts almost every school in the district.
The Board of Education of the Iron County School District is expected to adopt the proposed changes during its regular meeting on Feb. 24. Prior to the public hearing, Business Administrator Todd Hess outlined the proposed changes. Elementary school changes would be for the 2026-27 school year. Secondary school changes would not go into effect until the 2027-28 school year.
The proposals, Hess said, make elementary enrollments and secondary enrollments a little more even across the district. East Elementary will have the higher enrollment with the addition of five extra classrooms in the new building.
Board members asked about how students receive variances to stay at their current school if the boundary change has them moving out. Superintendent Dr. Lance Hatch said parents can submit the request prior to the end of March. He will then look at each request. Considerations include how close the school is to capacity, how many requests are in each grade, and how many students are asking to stay at their previous school vs how many are moving to the new school. With the expected changes, South, Enoch and Parowan elementary schools are still near capacity.
Parents will be notified by mid-April if the variance request is granted. Board members said they have also informed parents that a variance also means they must provide transportation for their student.
Board member Tiffiney Christiansen said she has received calls from parents worried about their student going to a different school. She said she advises that they can’t go wrong with any of the schools.
“It is interesting that we did do a boundary change a few years ago and that did affect North probably more than the rest of the schools,” Hatch said. “And they received a lot of students that did not want to go there and those families would not leave for anything now.”
Board members agreed that change is hard, but the adjustment will be good for schools that have been over capacity.