Murray City School District (Utah)

The Murray City School system conducts an educational program for kindergarten and grades one through twelve, organized into elementary, junior high and senior high schools. The district has 11 schools--7 elementary schools (grades K-6), 2 junior high (grades 7-9), one high school (grades 10-12), and one alternative high school. Murray is a city with a population of about 35,000, located in the middle of the Salt Lake Valley. Spanning approximately 43 blocks north to south (4500 South to 6600 South) and approximately 14 blocks east to west (900 East to the Jordan River and the North Jordan Canal), Murray City encompasses nine and a half square miles. The boundaries of the district are the same as the city limits. Although Murray City School District covers fewer square miles than any of the state's 40 school districts, it is the 14th largest in number of students enrolled. Reported enrollment for the 2001-2002 school year is 6,358. When the district was created in 1905, enrollment was 953.

The district is governed by a five-member, elected Board of Education. Voters in each of the district's five precincts elect one member to serve as their representative on the Board of Education. School board elections are held in November in conjunction with the general election. The board members elect a president and vice president at the time new members are sworn into office at the first board meeting in January. The district is also subject to the general oversight of the Utah State Office of Education. The superintendent appointed by the board is the executive officer of the board.

The superintendent is appointed by the board and works under the direction of the board. An assistant superintendent oversees curriculum and instruction. Together, these officers supervise the directors of Technology & Applied Technology Education, Curriculum K-12, and At Risk Programs. Directors of Personnel & Pupil Services and Special Services & Purchasing report to the superintendent. The district also employs a business administrator. The principal is the administrative officer and instructional leader of the school, working directly under the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.

Murray residents objected to the consolidation of Salt Lake County Schools in 1905, which would have split the population of the newly incorporated city (residing in county school districts 24 and 25) between Granite District on the north and Jordan District on the south. Through annexation, the population of Murray was increased above the necessary threshold to qualify as a city of the second class. Thus, Murray (which was incorporated in 1902 as a city of the third class) gained the authority to establish its own city school district.