Interviewer: Hi, everybody. I'm here with Grace Rex. She is running for school board in the new district that right now is being called Timpanogos, but may or may not change. The district covers Orem, Vineyard, Linden, and Pleasant Grove, and she's running for a seat that essentially covers the East Side Of Orem.

Grace Rex, candidate for the Timpanogos-area school board, said she and her husband Alan raised 10 children in Orem and that three of her children are currently enrolled in Alpine School District schools. "I still have 3 kids in Alpine School District and in public schools," Rex said, describing 25 years of volunteer service on school community councils, PTA leadership and involvement across local schools including Centennial and Cascade.

Rex said her priorities for the new district begin with safety and leadership. On the recent Orem campus shooting she called the event "heartbreaking" and praised Lakeridge Junior High's lockdown response, saying she was "really, really impressed with how Lakeridge handled their lockdowns and how they kept the kids safe and not scared." She told the interviewer that recent state legislation and expanded school security "can go a long way to helping keep us safe," while cautioning that measures should not make students "scared all the time."

Rex said hiring a superintendent will be among the board's first duties. "It is...probably especially at the beginning, the most important thing that the school board will do," she said, adding that the board should look for "somebody of really good character who...knows our values," with vision and clear communication to families and staff.

Boundary studies and student cohorting were central themes. Rex urged a boundary study to address overcrowding at Cascade and Vineyard and to reduce split feeder patterns in Pleasant Grove. She favors making feeder patterns consistent and moving ninth grade into high schools where possible, saying ninth grade in high school "will really help all the programs academically" and will make access to advanced classes and concurrent enrollment easier.

On dividing assets as Alpine splits into three districts, Rex said fairness will require careful review and "intelligent people looking at the numbers." She signaled openness to shared services where practical—such as transportation depots or consortium purchasing—and to arbitration for disputed allocations. On transportation, she noted the new district has buses but lacks a large depot and that shared arrangements might be needed at first.

Rex addressed facilities and capital priorities, calling out Pleasant Grove High School's rebuild, Lakeridge's auditorium, and seismic concerns at older elementary schools. She proposed that the board present multiple funding options to the community—phased work, bonds or modest tax increases—and said the district should "take it to the people" with clear options and polling when appropriate. Regarding Alpine School District's recent tax increase, Rex said she would have preferred allowing each new district to decide whether to raise taxes and that a newly separated district should review finances and "give the money back to the people" if it is not needed (the interview does not specify the Alpine tax amount).

Rex raised early literacy and dyslexia screening as priorities. "Most of my kids are dyslexic," she said, and argued for early identification and evidence-based instruction. She noted limits on dyslexia testing—"you can't even test for dyslexia until third grade"—and said state and district curriculum changes that train teachers in structured literacy are a step forward.

On questions related to transgender students and staff actions, Rex said safety and parental involvement must guide policy. She described Alpine School District's current practice as requiring parental sign-off for name changes and said it was appropriate that such steps not proceed without parents' knowledge. "You can't call a child by another name unless the parent signs off of it..." she said, and supported single-user bathrooms as an option to balance safety and inclusion.

Rex framed parental involvement as central to student success, urging multiple engagement methods—public meetings, polling and clear presentation of options—and said boards should weigh majority input while recognizing not everyone will be satisfied. She closed by stressing experience and enthusiasm for the new district: "I have the experience but more than that, I have an excitement for our new district...we can be the best district ever," she said, asking listeners for their vote.

Details not specified in the interview include the size of Alpine's tax increase and exact timelines or dollar estimates for facility projects.