School reopens in Utah town after ban by polygamist group
With specter of Jeffs gone, teachers, students excited about return
HILDALE, Utah — After more than a decade of no public education in Hildale, the new K-12 Water Canyon School welcomed nearly 170 students this week for the first day of school.
Because of religious politics under the leadership of Warren Jeffs, the former leader of the polygamous group on the Utah-Arizona border, the Washington County School District was asked to leave 13 years ago.
Craig Hammer, Washington County School District physical facilities executive director, said he was pleased to see the school return to Hildale — this time under a new name, which was chosen by the community for the Water Canyon backdrop in the red mountains behind the school.
“It’s not just that we are legally obligated to educate these students, it’s that we morally know it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
Hammer said reopening the school is one of the highlights of his career in education.
“The new school has exceeded my expectations,” he said. “We knew we’d get kids to come here, but to see the smiles on this first day was one of the greatest highlights of my career.”
The idea to reopen the school first came about in March when Willie Jessop, a former leader and spokesman for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, met with Hammer to discuss bringing back public education to the area now that Jeffs is no longer in power, according to many of his former followers, Hammer said.
“We’ve been working on this for five months,” he said. “All of this is a great thing for this community.”
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism whose members believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. Polygamy is a legacy of the early teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the mainstream church and its 15 million members worldwide abandoned the practice in 1890 and strictly prohibit it.
The district previously owned the school and its property, but it was sold to the FLDS church years ago and was eventually purchased by Jessop, who sold it back to the school district for its original sale amount, Hammer said.
“We essentially bought it back for what we originally sold it for,” he said.
In addition to the school, the district also purchased a newly erected facility next door, which appears to have been used as a large pantry storage facility, Hammer said.
It may be used by the school for storage, but eventually to be used as a gymnasium and for classroom space, he said. In the long run, it could be used for much of the high school building once there are enough students to build a separate high school.
Dan Jessop, Willie Jessop’s oldest son, is the only senior student at Water Canyon School, and is looking forward to the school year.
“I’m excited to be here,” he said. “I have some credit recovery to do, but by the end of the year I should be all caught up.”
Dan Jessop said he is excited to see other kids in his community have the opportunity to attend the new school.
“It’s been a long time in the making,” he said. “It’s exciting to see these kids finally get to come to school. I’m very much proud to be here.”
Rex Wilkey, Washington County School District assistant superintendent over elementary schools, said he was in his position when the school first closed 13 years ago at the request of Jeffs.
“We’re thrilled to be here,” he said. “One of the ways we hope to help repair this community is through public education.”
Special education teacher Emma Leavitt said she is excited to start teaching at the new school.
“First thing coming here this morning I saw the huge smiles on the kids’ faces,” she said. “It was so exciting to see.”
Principal Darin Thomas said the first day went smooth and he is looking forward to a good school year.
“Things are going better than expected,” he said. “The parents and students are very excited. It’s been a really incredible day, and we are looking forward to the rest of the year.”
Hammer said the school came together quickly thanks to the help of the Hildale Community and Jessop’s family. Some of the furniture for the school came from the old Dixie Middle School.
“There is still a lot we need to do, but we are getting there,” Hammer said. “We want this school to look like it used to.”