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Show V Newspaper lilies Thursday, June 26, 2003 PageA9 - IgggSCHOOL DISTRICT l frt Til front D32e continuea t there would be a Kfrn county district ei hluld include Lehi fc' that ou PMV Hio-h n vu " 1 i yrrzwz i thft VTone Peak High K:Sf f District, which ' Sch?keeP Pleasant Grove 15'terican Fork High ft ad hoc committee $ 1 a favorable report on Gf nossible division, the !Sd be on the ballot issue couifl 'tt" Wtl0!Lr date that an actual "'vision could occur, accord-La accord-La to Dickerson. and northern Utah Vounty are attempting a citizens' petition drive at ftf!: hesame time as Orem, fs: nickersonsaid, and the two committees are joining L I . rces to ensure proper representation. rep-resentation. Plans are to submit the petitions to the U commissioners simultane- k Dickerson said he lob-ttyCbied lob-ttyCbied the State Legislature in support of HB-169, jointing join-ting with the bill's sponsor, Representative David Cox 'of Lehi, who is one of those behind the drive to create the separate Lehinorthem county district, rin h According to a press 21 N release, the Committee to it Create an Orem School iDistrict takes the position ! ik-that the division of Alpine 3,5 School District into three ad ' smaller districts would be :m desirable for the taxpayers le ei' of Orem City because Orem nri "has very little in common fc; with the other geographical at p'areas of Alpine School ; District." jieg i The press release contin-aci-ues, "Because of massive growth in the northern part S;,.!of Alpine School District, eds-'new bond issues will be thfi-. necessary in the near -fature. This begs the ques-d ques-d f-r'tion, why should the tax-ce tax-ce . payers of Orem City be hjasked to subsidize this .growth and build new a buildings in the northern part of the district? Why not say, "Orem money for Orem students!'" Supporters of a separate Orem school district also note that until January of 2003, Orem citizens controlled con-trolled the Alpine School District Board 0f Education. Currently, three of seven board members are Orem residents. "If Orem has the commercial base and the ability to raise money, why should other cities control how that money is spent on the education edu-cation of our children in Orem?" asks the press release. "Orem is the perfect per-fect size for a comfortable, well-funded school district." Dickerson believes that Orem has the commercial base and the population base to support its own school district, and now is an optimum time to make the change. "It just seems like a smart thing to do," he said. Asked if the campaign has faced opposition, Dickerson said the drive has been relatively low-key so far, so opposition has not yet emerged, although supporters sup-porters of the division expect it will. Gary Seastrand, assistant assis-tant superintendent of grades K-6 for Alpine School District and an Orem resident, said the district dis-trict does not have an official offi-cial policy on the proposed division, but has "reasons that we think it the division divi-sion is a poor idea." Seastrand said it is important to "maintain a balance" in a school district. dis-trict. Changing demographics demograph-ics in a city could bring a declining enrollment and serious budget issues. Having a larger district, as opposed to a smaller one, contributes to greater stability. sta-bility. Secondly, Seastrand noted, there is the potential for an Orem district to have a declining enrollment, and with fewer students to teach, fewer teachers are hired. There can be a reduction reduc-tion in force, elimination of positions, and a resultant "aging staff." Another factor, according to Seastrand, is administrative adminis-trative costs. Alpine School District, he said, has the lowest cost per student in the state of Utah for administration. A division into three districts would mean three superintendents, superintend-ents, three directors of transportation, and so forth. Lost is the economy of scale in administration. Seastrand disagrees that Orem interests are not represented rep-resented in the district. He cited the three school board members from Orem, and said each community in the district is represented in an "appropriate balance," through community councils coun-cils and by other means. As an Orem resident, Seastrand said, he asks himself where his children and grandchildren are going to live. He anticipates they will be in Eagle Mountain or Highland, "where the growth is." He said he believes it is important impor-tant to "support the greater area" in education, and to "share opportunities." A few years ago, Seastrand said, Clark County School District in Nevada, a much larger district dis-trict than Alpine, voted overwhelmingly to maintain main-tain its size. "I think if you list all of the pros and cons, in my personal opinion, you come out a lot better to keep the district consolidated," Seastrand said. "There are a lot of issues that have to be addressed and discussed. dis-cussed. I am sure it will come to a vote at some point, but as a resident of Orem and an employee of the district, I am looking at the big picture." The Committee to Create an Orem School District can be contacted at 426-5161. The number for the Northern Utah County headquarters is 768-8759. )w-ithec )w-ithec adi; 'eari i resU-nimi' resU-nimi' esii a. past : ice epar: )ep . the in-. lice I hat be ed fr- 0. ad K hen Oi iref ring W1 0 if if v. Y"V. .V .' t 1 '. . i 1 ML Think of Business Internet Banking as having a business banker -at : your W. With it. you-and mult.ple other password pro te d ea access all your account information, pay bills. J J and Pments. and more. All with the click of a mouse. It s simple, with Zions Bank, it's free? Sign up today For details, see your local branch or visit zionsbank.com. ZIONS BANK pnpr,nTTEN WHO KEEPS US IN BUSINESS. MEMBER FDIC SPEED LIMIT CHANGES Continued from front page Speaking for himself and the council at the beginning of discussion, Mayor Jerry Washburn said, "We are concerned that what we discuss will not compromise the safety or welfare of the citizens of the community." During the discussion, the council received assurances assur-ances from both Public Safety Director Mike Larsen and City Manager Jim Reams. Larsen gave the commitment that if the new limits are implemented, implement-ed, traffic enforcement officers will be a "heavy, visible presence" in the first weeks, and strict enforcement will continue thereafter. City officials, backed by studies, do not expect 85th percentile speeds to increase significantly. signifi-cantly. If they do, Larsen said, "I would be the first one back here saying, 'We need to correct this.'" Reams held an impromptu conference with staff and said the city has sufficient funding to do restriping and to experiment exper-iment with calming devices, particularly around schools located on the arterial streets in question. In explaining the position posi-tion of city staff, Larsen said there are enforcement and safety issues. Most people, he said, are law-abiding, law-abiding, but they want the law to be reasonable. National studies have shown that most drivers drive at a speed that they consider to be reasonable and safe according to the design of the road and conditions. con-ditions. This is what is called the 85th percentile speed,and 85 out of 100 drivers drive at that speed or less. Larsen said that when the 85th percentile speed is higher than what is posted, there are enforcement enforce-ment issues. Orem streets have been enforced at the 85th percentile speeds for years. If the speed limits are raised to more closely match the speeds that are actually driven by the majority, the police will not allow a 10-15 mph leeway. Citations would be issued, for example, for 40 mph speeds in a 35 mph zone. School zone speeds, of course, will not change. "Should you choose to raise these speed limits," Larsen told the council, "we will enforce them." Larsen believes that posting the increases "will not compromise the safety of pedestrians or drivers," and will, in fact, increase safety as driving speeds even out and become more consistent, and there is less driver frustration and illegal passing. City Attorney Paul Johnson agrees that raising rais-ing the posted speed limits will make the laws easier to enforce. Speed limits are supposed to be based on traffic safety and engineering engi-neering studies, accident history, and other factors. In his opinion, he said, the 25 mph speeds Orem has on some arterial roads are not based on those. A visibly upset woman who identified herself as a resident at 800 East and 400 South and the mother of seven children, said she believes the city is taking the wrong approach, and is "rewarding bad behavior" by raising speed limits. She said she has no buffer between her home and ; yard and the road, and that the open house the city held on the speed limits lim-its issue was "a hard sell" for her. Other citizens expressed their worries and concerns about the safety of children, and about having speeds increase as limits are raised. Several citizens also spoke in favor of changing the posted speed limits, noting that the city has a tremendous amount of traffic to move and must have the means to do it. Voting in favor of the motion to postpone the vote to July 8 were Mayor Jerry Washburn and Councilmembers Shiree Thurston, Karen McCandless, Dean Dickerson, and Doug Forsyth. Councilmembers ; Stephen Sandstrom and Les Campbell seemed to favor taking a vote on the issue that night, so voted against the motion. "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages." -William Shakespeare, As You Like It 'Business Internet Banking is free lor 60 days hV'S may apply alter this time Celebrating Trie Birth of Your New Baby Beginning April 13, 2003 some hospitals will no longer supply- birth announcements to newspapers THE DAILY HERALD & The Utah Valley Weekly Newspapers are creating special photo notices to make it easy to announce your new arrival A f I J 1. VAvJ Ethan Morley born Sat. Mar, 8. 9lbs.,2l" long. Parents Brett & Heather Morley, of Orem Birth announcements will appear either on Sundays, Tuesdays or Thursdays in The Daily Herald or in the Orem Geneva Times, New Utah or the Spanish Fork Press on Thursdays for only $15oo Includes photo & up to 5 lines of text, the announcement will appear in The Daily Herald and any one of the weekly newspapers. Or, for $10m, the notice can appear in either the Daily Herald or any one of the weekly papers Deadline: For Sunday's paper, must be in one of our offices by noon on Wednesday. Friday by noon for Tuesday's paper & Monday by noon for Thursday's papers. p Bring in or man wis compiewa , ame. form, photo & payment to one of ' 7 r 11 ' i ' Address we jouoiving locations: THE DAILY HERALD 1555 N. Freedom Blvd. Provo, UT 84604 NEW UTAH 59 West Main American Fork, Utah 84003 Phone : I Baby's Name:. i Parent's Name:. ! City: OREM GENEVA TIMES 538 South State Orem, Utah 84058 SPANISH FORK PRESS 42 East 300 North Spanish Fork, Utah 84660 Weight & Length:. A I lOTi i Please run my announcement in: ' The Daily Herald Andor (select one) I Orem Geneva Times ' New Utah , Spanish Fork Press |