This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
By Kenneth Woods
I have finally had enough of the vitriol from the state Legislature aimed at Utah's public schools, teachers, parents, families and children.
Republican Sen. Howard Stephenson's op-ed ("No sense in throwing money at education," Opinion, April 22) states that since 1972, Utah's per-pupil spending rate has more than doubled, Utah's education system is idle for a third of the year, starting teachers get paid $30,000 per year and more than half of the new education growth is in charter schools.
I could argue: Since 1972 the minimum wage and cost of living have more than quadrupled, most Utah parents prefer to take family vacations in the summer months when teachers are often engaged in training or family time of their own. Most teachers in Utah get a starting wage of less than $25,000 unless they have a master's degree. And charter schools are becoming the only option for parents who don't want to put their children in an underfunded, supply-starved, increasingly more expensive and denigrated public education system,
But I doubt the current Utah Legislature would listen.
Actually, Republican state Sen. Aaron Osmond and some others have visited schools and made great strides this year connecting with teachers and their patrons, getting closer to a solution that everyone can support.
Yet, Stephenson and many other legislators will continue to close their ears to anyone who doesn't adhere to their corporate mentality for all public education. The corporate model cannot work for entities where the employees are expected to help each other to improve, share resources and collaborate to improve the general climate. Why would you expect an employee to help someone else they believe might take their job?
Utah schools are not failing. The Utah Legislature is failing teachers, students and parents alike. Most educators I know are great teachers. They discuss leaving the state for better opportunities but remain due to their values and the beauty of our state. They are amazingly well-trained and self-sacrificing, despite being relentlessly spit upon by Utah's Legislature.
Teachers have done more teaching of more students — with less support — and student scores have not fallen as dramatically as one might expect. But it is time to stop the vile, behind-the-scenes deal making and let the taxpaying public know why the Legislature is letting the education system and other public services collapse.
Or, we could just build another pretty highway!
Kenneth Woods has taught junior high school in the Granite School District for eight years.