2011T12 ANNUAL BUDGET - Granite School District

Granite School District
2011-12 Budget
Organizational Section
History
Public education in America can trace its roots back to 1640 when the Massachusetts Puritans established
schools to teach basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills and to cultivate values that serve a democratic
society.
When Mormon pioneers migrated to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, they established schools that were
parochial in nature. From 1848 until 1887 throughout the territory of Utah, students were educated in
church meeting houses. Records in 1869 identified 226 schools with 13,000 students (about 10 percent of
the population). They were taught by 306 teachers whose salaries were approximately $202 per year.
Utah’s early ethnic population was very diverse. In the 1880’s, increasing numbers of non-Mormon mine
workers in the Salt Lake Valley brought pressure on the territorial government to provide a free public
education system. In 1888, mining official and attorney Clarence E. Allen backed the first legislative action
to create a public education system. The bill was defeated. A year later, Heber J. Grant reintroduced the
bill which was vetoed by the territorial governor. On a third attempt, Mr. Allen was successful. He is known
today as the father of Utah’s uniform public education system.
Beginning in 1890, the 20 “ward” schools in Salt Lake City were consolidated into a single district, a
process that took two years. By the time Utah gained statehood in 1896, consolidation in Salt Lake City
was considered a superior system.
It took nine years to bring about consolidation in Salt Lake County. County Superintendent Oscar Van Cott
was a strong leader and perceptive educator. He was vitally concerned that every child receive an
opportunity to learn the basic skills and to acquire some grace and maturity in verbal expression and
composition. Superintendent Van Cott recognized the need for a united community effort to provide a
larger financial base for public education. His early recommendations met with considerable opposition,
but his efforts eventually resulted in the creation of the Granite and Jordan school districts on December
15, 1904 by the Board of Salt Lake County Commissioners.
Twenty-two small school districts were consolidated to form Granite School District. The district’s boundary
spanned from the Wasatch Mountain Range to the Oquirrhs encompassing about 300 square miles. John
W. Smith served simultaneously as county superintendent and superintendent of Granite and Jordan
school districts from 1905-1907. At that time, approximately 15,000 people lived in Granite’s boundaries,
including 4,132 school children. The Legislature mandated compulsory education in 1906, though
exceptions were made for boys and girls 12-18 who needed to support their mothers or invalid fathers.
Utah’s agrarian economy encouraged many young people to help with family farms, making secondary
education slow in coming. Only five high schools operated in Utah during the early 20 th century, and they
received little support. One of those original high schools was Granite High School.
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