Draper families on the Utah County side of town sent their children back to class Wednesday, Aug. 19, under the Alpine School District banner for the last time.

Utah's largest school district, serving more than 80,000 students, will dissolve next summer and split into three successor districts: Aspen Peaks, Lake Mountain and Timpanogos. All three officially launch July 1, 2027.

For Draper, the change is direct. Proposition 11, approved by Utah County voters in 2024, placed the city's Utah County portion into the new Aspen Peaks School District alongside American Fork, Cedar Hills, Alpine, Highland and Lehi. Aspen Peaks will be the largest of the three districts, serving an estimated 35,000 students.

What Draper families get in the split

The three new district boards unanimously ratified an asset-division agreement in late June after months of negotiation, according to Alpine School District's announcement. Under the deal, Aspen Peaks receives 41.78% of Alpine's non-geographic assets and liabilities. Lake Mountain gets 30.16%, and Timpanogos gets 28.06%.

Those percentages, based on enrollment, apply to the general fund, student activities funds, Alpine School District Foundation money and warehouse equipment. School buildings transfer automatically to whichever new district they sit in.

Staff currently assigned to Alpine schools will stay at those schools under their new district. Pay, benefits, seniority and accrued vacation hours carry over intact.

"This was not about winners and losers. This was about creating three strong districts," Aspen Peaks Board of Education president Diane Knight said when the boards approved the agreement in late June.

Leadership and timeline

Dr. Joel Perkins has been named Aspen Peaks' first superintendent. The seven-member board, led by Knight, held its first public meeting Nov. 25, 2025, and approved its first operating budget for fiscal year 2027 on June 11.

Alpine Superintendent Rob Smith, who came out of retirement to guide the transition, said the district was completing employment offers to staff the week of Aug. 21, several months ahead of the January 2027 statutory deadline.

The district also posted strong academic results in its final year: 74% of third graders reading at grade level, 87% of junior high students on track for graduation and a 93% district-wide graduation rate.

Concerns linger

Not everyone is at ease. Parent Alia Huskey, who has children in Alpine's special education program, told The Salt Lake Tribune she worries smaller districts will cut that funding first.

The split is not yet final in one key respect: enrollment percentages that lock in the asset division will be confirmed by June 30, 2027, leaving room for slight adjustments before the new districts open their doors.