How are wards combined?
 

I've never been involved in a ward split or two wards combining. I think it's possible that we may have our ward combined with another at this stake conference. The only reason I saw that is because we are taking the unusual step of having the whole stake meet at one time (versus the normal thing they do, two different meetings in two locations).

I suppose the 2 other possibilities are 1) new stake presidency, and 2) important speaker (GA). Or 3) random.

I'm just trying to imagine how boundary changes and combinations would work. I guess a Bishop would have to be released. Maybe that Bishop is called to be a counselor to the remaining Bishop. In both wards, the Bishop is relatively new. So I doubt both would be released and a third person called instead.

They could have done the usual two separate meetings and make sure the two wards being combined are designated for the same time. Maybe another possibility is that the change will involve more than two wards, like re-drawing the boundaries of three wards and ending up with two. I've never witnessed wards being combined, but when I have seen splits they've usually done it at a separate meeting that doesn't involve the other wards in the stake not affected by the change. The only time I've seen them do it in front of the entire stake was once when the change involved some re-drawing of the lines with a neighboring stake. In that case they invited our whole stake, plus the wards affected from the other stake.

In our stake we have one ward that is bursting at the seams (should probably be split), and then some wards like ours. We are the smallest. We are a ward of largely senior citizens and transient apartment dwellers. With a few home-owning families with kids sprinkled in.

The problem with changes is that there could be kids not going to same junior high or high school. But frankly that's already the case in many of the wards.

It's been suboptimal for quite a while.

Different schools within the same district shouldn't be that big of a deal. The whole district should be on the same calendar. My ward is pretty geographically compact but there are still two different middle schools. I think they all go to the same high school now but that wasn't always the case either.

actually I bet that they keep all 3 wards in play and just split up the population so that they are more equal. Our ward is shaped like Tennessee. Very east-west, not very north-south. But this would require people living on one side of the freeway to attend church on the other side of the freeway.

However as it is now, I have to cross a freeway to get to the rest of my ward.