raising rascals and raising H E double-hockey sticks

I have written this a few times and every time I stopped. I don't want to offend anyone. Just so you know, we will still be friends if we disagree. But, I believe that many citizens, taxpayers and parents do not understand what has happened with the district split and what the consequences are for our children here in Jordan.


In full disclosure, I grew up in a family that strongly believes in and values public education. My parents were both school teachers. My dad is now a middle school librarian and my mom is an elementary school principal. I used to be a school psychologist. Three of my children attend public school. I believe that every child deserves a good, quality education. I believe that it is vital for our society to have a well-educated population. I believe that what is good for my kids is good for yours.



I was talking to a friend and she expressed how hard it is to follow and understand what has happened and what is going on. I think a lot of us are in that same boat. It has taken a lot of time and research and attendance at meetings for me to have developed the opinions I have on the issue.


I have been following the situation as closely as I could since after the district split. The way the east side was allowed to split from us--allowed by the state legislature--has been disastrous for us. After looking at the numbers, I know why they wanted to dump us--we have all of the growth and less tax revenue. (However, when they were building all of the new schools, years ago, the west side helped pay for them.) So, even after being consulted by outside assessors, and after being told that the ramifications would be bad for the west side, the legislature approved the measure allowing them to create their own district. Several studies indicated that the best way to split would have been to split north and south, not east and west.

The Jordan district now operates on $1,136 property revenue per student with Canyons at $2,087.

So, if we want to identify someone to blame, it would be the state legislators that voted to allow the split to happen the way it did. You may think that surely our representatives, here on the west side, would not have voted for the bill. You would surely be wrong.


When House Bill 77 passed, it passed on a vote of 39 to 31 and the names of the west side legislators who voted for the bill are: Wayne Harper-West Jordan, Hutchings-West Jordan, Mascaro-West Jordan, Merlyn Newbold-South Jordan, Peggy Wallace (no longer a legislator.) Rep. Houge of Riverton did not attend the day of the vote.


If those west side representatives would have cast "no" votes, the split would have been stopped right then.


So, one of the major issues we citizens face is that we have elected officials that let this happen. Sorry to be blunt, but we are, by and large, very apathetic, uninformed and uninvolved in local politics. I know it is hard and takes time, but we, the citizens have to be more informed and involved. Especially us moms.

The sad thing is that people aren't and these legislators keep getting re-elected. I haven't mentioned Chris Buttars. I have some serious issues with him that have nothing to do with the split, but he is against raising taxes for education. His suggestion for the solution to the budget shortfall was to do away with the 12th grade--seriously, that's his idea.

Back in August, the school board meeting was a Truth-in-Taxation hearing. 200 people made comments to the board. I think all of them were against tax increases--that was the number one message--"don't raise our taxes." It was a very heated meeting. People were angry. People blamed the school board.

The problem is that the board didn't hear from the people that are willing to accept tax increases as part of the solution. Tax increases would only be part of the solution. We would still need cuts, but it would help stop the bleeding.

So, Jordan School District has a $30 million deficit. Senator Bird (West Jordan) wrote HB292. This bill would have equalized spending per student in both districts. The bill was shot down by the Education Committee last week, not even making it to the floor for a vote.

I attended the Jordan School District Board Meeting on January 26, where I commented that just because the school board didn't hear from 200 people that support property tax increases doesn't mean those people don't exsist.

Raising taxes is tricky. I know there are people on fixed incomes. I know we are in a tough economy. I don't want to have to pay more. However, we have a responsibility to our children to provide them with the best education possible. That takes money and drastic times call for drastic measures.

I was told by a person (a person that has several children in public schools in Jordan) that they already pay enough in taxes to cover their children's education. The fact is, they don't. We value children and education here, but by and large we don't want to pay for it.

The Jordan PTA and JEA support "increasing taxes, not class sizes."

In my never to be humble opinion, I think that the district should do everything in it's power to cut extras, be responsible with what it already has and cut any waste. Once that has been done, I support a tax increase. I agree that raising the taxes should come last--after everything extra--the biggest salaries, middle-level administrators, programs and activities that are not vital to basic education and don't directly affect the classroom have been reduced or cut. Yes, the legislature, in allowing the split to happen the way it did, did us wrong. Yes, it's not fair. No, I don't like paying more in taxes. But I think, with proper oversight in spending, it has to be a part of the solution. We have to be willing to pay to educate our children.

I have had people tell me that increasing class size by just a few students won't be that big of a deal. It is a HUGE deal. I volunteer every week in my kid's classes. Class sizes are already larger than they have been in the past. Aids have already been cut. Adding another four children to a class will drastically impact the quality of the education they receive.

In asking teachers to do more with less, one of the outcomes will be that some excellent teachers will not stay. They will seek greener pastures where they actually have reasonable class sizes, appropriate pay, and support.

The school board voted to increase class sizes by 4 students per class, along with other cuts. This means 250 teachers will lose their jobs and another 250 other employees will lose their jobs. You can see the board's budget recommendations here: www.jordandistrict.org/board/summary/0910/020910.html

So, what's a mom like me (and you) to do. Well, I will be asking (when I can again--a person can only speak once in three months on the same subject to the board) to reconsider a tax increase as part of the solution. I have also contacted my state legislators and the governors office to share my concerns.

I am going to the meeting tonight to find out other ways to stay involved and impact change. I will let ya'll know what I find out.

In closing, (and I must thank those of you that read this to the end) I want to encourage you to do research. You may not agree with me, but read up on it and find out where you stand. Find out how this will impact your kids. Also, I encourage you to support your children's teachers. Morale is low. They are worried about their jobs. They are worried how they will be able to do their jobs next year.

Thanks again for reading this op-ed piece. And, are we still friends?