UPDATES

Thank you to all residents who shared their preferences about which map to pick! Based on your feedback, we are happy to announce that we have finalized the Timpanogos District (*temporary name!) representation map to present to the county! The map defines representation areas for the seven school board seats in our new district. To see the map, check out the image below. To zoom in for more detail, or to see which district you would be in, visit this interactive Google Map image.

How did we select this map?

Your insights were valuable and helped steer us to our final map. Of those who responded to our survey request, 50% preferred Map A, while 50% preferred Map B. However, when we looked at results by area, we found that residents in Orem and Vineyard preferred Map B over Map A (59% to 41%), while residents in Lindon & Pleasant Grove preferred Map A over Map B (68% to 32%).

After factoring in these preferences, we constructed a new map that allows Orem & Vineyard residents their preferred Map B alignment, while also allowing Lindon & Pleasant Grove their preferred Map A alignment.

Is this map final?

The Utah County Commissioners will review proposed representation maps from all three new districts starting March 12 at their work session. They are planning to make a decision about whether to adopt our proposed map, modify it, or create an entirely different map by March 26th. The public will have a chance to comment on the proposed maps during this process. If you’d like to voice your opinion or concern, you may attend the work session or commission meeting, or you may comment online. Details about how to do so will be found on www.utahcounty.gov when they are available. 

How do candidates file to run for the new board seats?

Anyone interested in running for the new school board seats must file at the County offices (100 E South Center Street, Provo, Room 3100) June 2-9. There is a $50 cash filing fee. Candidates must file in-person and complete all required paperwork. County staff will swear in the candidate and take a photo for use in county materials. Primary Elections will be on August 12th, and the General Election will be on November 4th. Pending legislation will determine when board members begin their service; they will start either after the election is canvassed in November 2025, or in January 2026.

Why does our district have seven board seats?

In Utah, the number of board seats a district has is determined by student population within the district. According to Utah Code Section 20A-14-202, districts with fewer than 10,000 students have 5 board members; districts with 10,000-50,000 students have 7 board members (with an option to increase to 9 by a majority board vote); and districts with 100,000 or more students have 9 board seats. There will be approximately 23,000 students In the Timpanogos District (*temporary name!) when it begins operating in 2027, therefore, there are 7 board seats representing 7 unique geographic areas in our district.

How cities are assigned board seat representation: Each city’s representation on the school board is determined by their total population, which means that larger cities get more board seats. Out of the Timpanogos District’s (*temporary name!) seven board seats, Orem receives 4.23 seats, Pleasant Grove receives 1.62 seats, Vineyard receives .64 seats, and Lindon receives .51 seats. Obviously, this means that representation doesn’t line up with city boundaries. As a result, and as the district map shows, board seats may share portions of two or more cities.

What are the legal requirements the map must meet?

Voting district maps are subject to strict legal requirements. The law requires that the board member areas are similar in population size (within +/- 10%), are compact and contiguous, and must be made up of current voting precincts. This map meets all of these requirements. It’s also worth noting that the map will last through the 2030 census, when it will be reworked by the County, as is required by law following each national census. 

What other factors did you use to determine the map? 

• We tried to keep school clusters together as best we could, while still satisfying other legal requirements. That said, school boundaries and school clusters may change as a result of the district division, if the new board determines it is necessary.

• We tried to keep neighborhoods together as best we could so their unique needs could be represented by their assigned board members.

Answers to resident questions:

What do the colored areas on the map mean? 

Each colored area on the map represents a board seat boundary.

Why does area 6 span across Provo, and why does area 5 go so far into Provo Canyon?

All of the areas within our school boundary map are currently in the Alpine School District, and therefore are now in our new district. There are a few oddities on the map, including a couple very small pockets of Provo, and areas up Provo Canyon that are in area 6 (represented in purple on the map). Area 5 (represented in orange on the map) includes quite a bit of forest land, as well as the Sundance area up Provo Canyon.

What is the population distribution between the board seat representation areas? 

While the geographic boundaries may look disproportionate, the population distribution is not, as code only allows for a 10% population variance from the ideal district population (which is the average population per district). The table below shows general population distribution across the board seat boundaries. Notice that seat 3 has a slightly smaller population to allow for the significant growth happening in Vineyard’s Utah City.

Does the map show school boundaries? 

No. This  map strictly shows board seat representation areas within the Timpanogos District (*temporary name!). School boundary decisions will be made by the new school board after they are elected.

Last but not least…

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us! We read every comment and considered every viewpoint. And, while we can’t respond to every comment, here are a few replies directed to the person who…

• …wants us to “get rid of the panhandle shapes (and “big purple blobs”) that isolate communities”: Those are pretty wild, right?! It’s not legally possible to “get rid” of them at the present time. It could be in the future, but probably wouldn’t be worth the financial investment to do so.

• …was concerned about property tax increases: We can’t help you with that, but we encourage you to thoroughly research school board candidates and vote for someone who aligns with your views.

• …suggested we name the school the “Geneva School District”: We love that you’re thinking about this! Be sure to mention it to the future school board, who will be naming the district. Remember… “Timpanogos District” = *temporary name! 🙂

• …wanted more information so they could make a more educated decision about which map to prefer: This is a great request, and we are sorry you didn’t have the information you wanted. Thank you for hanging in there with us as we iron out the kinks in this process. Depending on where you came across the survey link (email from the district, from a Facebook page, etc), more or less information was available. Hopefully this post covers your questions, and if you have concerns about the proposed map, please feel free to voice them to the county! Information about how to do so will be found on the county website www.utahcounty.gov.

• …commented that Map A best represents socioeconomic concerns, followed immediately by the person who said Map B best represents socioeconomic concerns: We love you both for your interest and are so grateful for your perspectives! As you can see, there are a multitude of differing opinions on some topics, and we’ve tried our best to represent both.

• …suggested that Mark Clement gerrymandered the maps so he could stay in office: Mark Clement is not running for the new school board. But we thank him for his many years of service on the Alpine board!

• …appreciated all of our “hard work in this matter”: Thank you! We’re doing our best to find the best solution for the most people!

• …said “I wike turtles.”: We wike them too and will wike you forever for adding some levity to an otherwise serious process.