Families in Cottonwood Heights will send their children to a different school this fall after the Canyons Board of Education merged Bella Vista Elementary into Ridgecrest Elementary, combining enrollment of approximately 600 students based on 2025-2026 figures. It's the most visible change in a district grappling with 1,226 fewer students over two years and millions in lost state funding.
The merger, approved unanimously in December 2025, means Bella Vista's building on Bengal Boulevard will sit empty when classes resume in August. Bella Vista's special education students will transfer to Brookwood Elementary in Sandy, according to board records. The school held a "clap out" ceremony at the end of the 2025-2026 year.
The old Bella Vista building won't stay vacant long. At the June 2 board meeting, district administrators proposed moving Life Skills Academy and Entrada Adult High School into the Cottonwood Heights facility for the 2027-2028 school year. Entrada currently shares space with Diamond Ridge High; the relocation would give Diamond Ridge room to expand. That proposal has not yet received a board vote.
Boundary study replaces piecemeal mergers
A broader shake-up is coming. On May 5, the board voted 5-2 to table a proposal consolidating Granite and Quail Hollow elementary schools in Sandy. Board members Katie Dahle, Karen Pedersen, Cyndi Neibaur, Trent Lewis, and Andrew Edtl voted to pause; President Amber Shill and Nancy Oaks voted to proceed. A second Sandy proposal combining Park Lane and Willow Canyon was also tabled.
Instead, the board directed its Long-Range Planning Committee to conduct a comprehensive districtwide boundary study covering not just under-enrolled elementary schools but also feeder patterns into middle and high schools.
That study could directly affect Brighton High School families. The committee recommended reassigning the Raintree neighborhood in Sandy from the Jordan High feeder system to Brighton High's feeder. The proposal was tabled May 5 to comply with state code requiring 30-day notice to affected high schools. No subsequent vote has been recorded through mid-July.
The numbers driving the changes
Canyons enrolled 31,506 students in 2025-2026, down 659 from the prior year. The district projects another 567-student decline for 2026-2027, costing an additional $2.7 million in state funding, according to figures presented at the March 10 public hearing. The state pays $4,870 per student enrolled for 180 days.
"Take the kindergarten class going in and subtract it from the class graduating, and you can see where the problem is," board member Karen Pedersen said at the January 20 board meeting. "When the graduating class is larger than the incoming kindergarten class, our numbers are fewer and that's going to create long-term sustainability challenges."
The average home price in district boundaries reached $769,500 as of the 2025-2026 school year, up 82.9 percent since 2019, according to district data presented at the June 2 board meeting. Rising costs make it harder for young families to move in.
New leadership
Dr. McKay Robinson took over as superintendent July 1, succeeding the retired Dr. Rick Robins. Robinson previously served as assistant superintendent.
Angi Holden, former principal at both Union Middle and Bella Vista Elementary, was appointed School Performance Director over all Canyons middle schools on May 5. During her tenure at Bella Vista, the school earned National Blue Ribbon School designation in 2024. She brings nearly three decades of experience in special education, instructional coaching, and school leadership.
What's next for families
The district's new student information system, Qmlativ, is scheduled to go live for back-to-school registration on Monday, August 3. The Truth-in-Taxation public hearing on a proposed 5.8 percent tax increase ($6.87 million) is set for Tuesday, August 4, at 6 p.m. at District Offices, 9361 S. 300 East, Sandy. If approved, the average homeowner in district boundaries would pay about $37 more on their annual property tax bill.
Middle school students will also face a bell-to-bell ban on personal cellphones, AI glasses, and smartwatches under Utah Senate Bill 69; high schools retain exceptions under board policy.
