Note: Recordings and documents for agenda items can be accessed via Diligent by clicking on the corresponding agenda items.

Boundary and Enrollment Study

The Board of Education voted to start the process to hold public hearings on two proposals to consolidate school communities. The Board voted to authorize a 90-day public input period on the recommendation to combine the Granite and Quail Hollow elementary school communities, starting in the 2027-2028 school year. The vote, which also calls for the proposed new school community to be housed in the Quail Hollow facility, was a direct response to an in-depth study of under-enrolled and under-utilized schools by the District’s Long-Range Planning Committee. The Board also voted to hold public hearings on the proposal to consolidate the Park Lane and Willow Canyon elementary school communities, also starting in the 2027-2028 school year. The input window for this proposal is 90 days, as well. The new school community, per the proposal, would be housed in the Willow Canyon facility. The vote will start the process for patrons to provide input and suggestions on the proposals. Granite, Quail Hollow, Park Lane and Willow Canyon will continue to operate as usual for the coming school year. 

Administrative Appointment

Tiffany Midgley is CSD’s new Director of Human Resources. The Board of Education approved her appointment as part of the Consent Agenda. Midgley will succeed the retiring Steve Dimond, who is has served as Canyons’ Human Resources Director since the District’s inception in 2009. During his tenure, Dimond played a foundational role in building hiring and retention systems, policies, and practices, helping to establish a stable and effective workforce during the District’s formative years. Midgley joins Canyons from Davis District, where she served in a variety of leadership roles, most recently as Director of the Special Education Department. In that position she oversaw special education and Section 504 programs serving more than 9,500 students. A key component of her role included preparing and delivering districtwide professional development for school leaders and educators, strengthening leadership capacity and instructional practices across schools. Midgley also served on Davis District’s Human Resources Administrative Consultation team, providing support for employment and personnel matters. In addition, she was a member of the Superintendent’s Executive Staff, contributing to high-level strategic planning and decision making. Midgley moved from Davis County to Sandy City five years ago with her husband, Jeff Midgley. Two of her three children live in Sandy and her parents and her siblings all live within Canyons District’s boundaries. She holds a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Utah, a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Brigham Young University, and an Associate of Arts degree from Ricks College.

School Consolidation

A Transition Advisory Team made up of school and district administrators, teachers, and parents has been created to ensure a smooth consolidation of the Ridgecrest and Bella Vista elementary school communities. School Performance Director Sally Sansom told the Board that the team’s focus will be on easing the transition for the Tigers — from both Ridgecrest and Bella Vista. Starting in the 2026-2027 school year, students who live in the boundaries of both schools will be assigned to attend Ridgecrest as their boundary school. The decision to merge the two — yet maintain the Bella Vista facility as a District asset — came after a review of schools in CSD reporting steep enrollment declines, attributed to a slowing birthrate and coupled with housing costs that price young families out of the market. Following a public-input period, the Board of Education opted to merge the two schools to create a school community of some 600 students. Ridgecrest’s administrators, Principal Sara Allen and Assistant Principal Crystal Connors, will be among those on the Transition Team, which will work through such issues as staffing, branding for the new community, and upcoming events to mark the legacy events of Bella Vista. Allen will remain principal of the building and Connors will also continue as Assistant Principal of the newly united school. CSD’s HR. Special Education. and Communications departments, as well as PTAs and SCCs from both schools, are participating on the Transition Advisory Team. The team is starting the groundwork for joint events and activities to mark the final months of Bella Vista’s operations and celebrate the school’s history. Superintendent Dr. Rick Robins encouraged Policy Committee to review the obligatory transfer policy to be prepared for possible future consolidations. The Board and Administration also reviewed a previous decision of the Board and Administration to provide an early retirement “bridge to retirement” for health insurance during the districtwide grade reconfiguration.

DLI Proposals

Declining enrollment numbers in Canyons also have impacted the District’s dual-language immersion programs, Instructional Supports Director Dr. Amber Roderick-Landward told the Board of Education. Dr. Roderick-Landward presented a plan to reduce the number of available spots in first-grade DLI classes at Lone Peak, Oak Hollow, and Silver Mesa next year. All three schools will continue to offer the global-language programs, but starting this fall, 32 spots will be granted in the first grade — the first year that students can participate in the DLI program. In previous years, when there were wait lists for entrance to DLI programs, Canyons offered twice the number of spots in the program. Because of dropping enrollment numbers, CSD has supplemented full-time equivalent employees to maintain the DLI program. Some schools have only one non-DLI class in a grade, she said. Having only one non-DLI class impacts students and teachers in disparity of class sizes, makes it challenging to find solutions for peer or teacher-student conflicts, and allows for fewer cross-curricular innovations and classroom interventions across grade level with only one traditional classroom. 

Mathematics Curriculum

The Board of Education approved mathematics curricula to be taught in CSD schools, starting in fall 2026. Approved were Amplify Desmos Math for elementary and Reveal Math for secondary. The curriculum emphasizes problem-solving, strong conceptual understanding, and is aligned with state standards. As part of the approval process, CSD sent information to parents with an invitation to review the curriculum and provide feedback.

School Highlights

Indian Hills Middle Principal Shelly Karren remarked on the school’s new vision statement, which includes an emphasis on “creativity” and “connection.” Karren thanked the Board for its support in the renovation of the choir and band room. She also noted the new after-school theater troupe, funded by the SCC, which plans to perform a spring school play. Karren also mentioned that IHMS’s has developed partnerships with Alta High so students can build connections with the feeder high school. The Warriors completed a food drive and will soon do a Make-A-Wish project to connect with the community. “We know that kindness goes such a long way,” she said. At IHMS, she says, every voice matters.

Graduation Assignments

The Board of Education decided commencement address assignments.

Legislative Update

External Relations Director Charlie Evans and Student Engagement Coordinator Susan Edwards presented information on the outset of the 45-day legislative session. Employees and patrons of Canyons District may sign up for a daily email update on education-related and -adjacent bills that being debated at the legislature. Canyons’ bill tracker, sent by the RSS feed on CSD website, is created and distributed by CSD legislative-affairs team. With the daily update, Canyons aims to keep patrons and personnel up to date with the bills being debated by state lawmakers. Board member Karen Pedersen mentioned Gov. Spencer Cox’s public statements about education-related issues, including a proposal to retain students who are not reading at grade level at the end of the third grade. On Wednesday from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Rotunda, Canyons District will have a booth to emphasize the District’s academics, arts programs, and athletics. Later this month, the Utah School Boards Association will visit the session to advocate for public education.

Patron Comment

The following patrons addressed the Board during Patron Comment. Recordings of the remarks can be accessed on Diligent:

• Elcena Saline
• Jake Garfield
• Lisa Curtis

Canyons Strong Recognitions

The following were recognized for their achievements:

• Former Corner Canyon Coach Eric Kjar for being named head football coach at Weber State University.
• Brighton High Coach Casey Sutera for being named Kjar’s successor at CCHS.
• Sunrise Elementary for hosting Lt. Gov. Deirdre Henderson and state education policy adviser Dr. Rich Nye as they visited to observe literacy instruction at Utah’s No. 1 elementary school.
• Brighton High color guard captain Sadie Andersen for being chosen for the 2026 Bands of America Honor Band that performed at the Rose Parade.
• Corner Canyon freshman Avi Gurjar for winning first place at the recent Utah Archery Competition.
• IT’s Sharon Simmons for her work to implement the new Student Information System, Qmalativ. The Payroll Department has worked hard to adopt Qmlativ so that employees were paid on time.
• IT’s Scot McCombs, Thomas Bailey, Kristine Kartchner, and Jeff Murray for their work on CSD’s filtering system and the “three-strikes rule” to ensure students are not accessing inappropriate content on CSD-issued devices.
• Corner Canyon cheer coach Whitney Lunt for being named the 6A Cheer Coach of the Year. Corner Canyon, Jordan and Hillcrest will vie for honors this week at the 4A, 5A and 6A state competitive cheer competition.

Consent Agenda

The Board of Education approved the Consent Agenda, including the minutes of the Board of Education meeting for Dec. 16, 2025; the minutes for Jan. 6, 2026; hire and termination reports; purchasing bids; December financial reports; administrative appointment; and LEA-specific endorsements and endorsements.

Superintendent. Business Administrator

Superintendent Dr. Rick Robins thanked the Board for the thoughtful and deliberative process regarding the Boundary and Enrollment Study recommendations. Dr. Robins also noted the CSD Science Fair on Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Canyons Center. Awards will be given on Thursday to the winners of the fair. He also mentioned the positive and productive discussions during Listening Tour meetings.

Business Administrator Leon Wilcox noted that CTE Director Janet Goble is retiring. She’s valiantly battling a long-term illness. 

Board Member Comments

Ms. Holly Neibaur thanked Goble for being a fierce advocate of Career and Technical Education. She also expressed appreciation for Bella Vista teachers. Neibaur congratulated CCHS cheer Coach Lunt for being named the Utah High School Activities Association’s 6A Coach of the Year. She wished Kjar and Sutera much luck at both Weber State and CCHS. She also mentioned the excitement in Draper for Friday Night Lights at Corner Canyon. She also commented on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday.

Mr. Jackson Lewis acknowledged the first day of the Utah legislature and the proposed education-related bills. He urged residents to contact the Utah State Board of Education to ask for support of public education instead of the state’s first voucher program. He also noted the bills that would roll back the partisan seats on the state education panel, as well as other education-funding bills.

Mr. Andrew Edtl said “we are not the best school district in the state by accident.” Every person contributes to CSD’s high achievement. CSD personnel can never be told enough how much patrons appreciate the professionalism and dedication of CSD schools, he said. His children enjoy school so much that they bemoan having to miss school, even when they are ill. 

Ms. Amanda Oaks lauded IHMS Principal Shelly Karren’s advocacy of the arts. She also thanked Kjar for his work as the CCHS coach and welcomed Sutera to his new role. Oaks, who attended Lt. Gov. Henderson’s visit to Sunrise Elementary, noted the apparent high-quality instruction in Sunrise classrooms. The teachers exuded joy in interacting with their students while engaging in literacy instruction, she said. Oaks also reported on attending Superintendent Listening Tour meetings, thanked Goble as a founding administrator of CSD, and expressed appreciation for her fellow Board members who attended the USBA conference.

Mrs. Katie Dahle thanked Sunrise Elementary’s Dr. Wilkinson and her team for hosting Lt. Gov. Henderson, noted the challenges of evaluating boundary and enrollment data and proposals, and encouraged students who are planning to compete in the CSD science fair.

Mrs. Karen Pedersen remarked on the success of the preschool and kindergarten Open Houses, reported on attending recent Gov. Cox’s symposium on literacy and learning, and mentioned the USBA conference. She noted CSD’s planned booth at a pro-public education event on Capitol Hill from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

President Amber Shill attended many of the same events, including a speaker at Jordan High on Topaz. She thanked the PTA for their support of CSD schools and expressed appreciation for Bella Vista teachers. She noted Goble’s contributions to CTE’s advancements in CSD. She said Sutera will be missed at Brighton as he starts his new coaching role at CCHS. As Lt. Gov. Henderson visited Sunrise, it was mentioned several times that Sunrise is the No. 1 school in Utah, per the U.S. World and News Report.