Opinion: Utah’s school districts are treating a symptom, not the disease

The Granite School District School Board faces a critical decision, the consequences of which will be felt by families and neighborhoods for generations to come. The district has recommended the closure of Holladay’s Morningside Elementary and splitting its three academic tracks — and its families — across different schools.

Why should all Utah taxpayers care about school closures? Because closing a successful school that can compete with charter and private schools is throwing good tax dollars after bad strategy. Each student lost to charter schools takes unregulated tax dollars with them. Instead of learning from what makes Morningside work, GSD is eliminating it — ensuring more families leave and more closures follow in neighborhoods across the state.

Charter schools have experienced a growth rate of 620% in 25 years, with an astronomical enrollment rate increase of more than 2,000%. The result is a steady increase in public school closures throughout the state, impacting families, communities and quality of education in a state that doesn’t properly prioritize funding and resources for education. Now Granite School District, seemingly unable to stop the mass exodus to charter schools, is creating space for more competition to grow — this time by dismantling a top 5 elementary school…

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