Mark Towner's Spyglass Spots: Tension Between Legislature, State School Board Grows
Last Edited: Tuesday, 02 Oct 2007, 7:11 PM MDT
Created: Tuesday, 02 Oct 2007, 7:11 PM MDT
SALT LAKE CITY -- By BROCK VERGAKIS
Associated Press Writer
A lawmaker seems even more committed to getting school districts to consider a year-round calendar, after a state school board member said the proposed remedy to Utah's teacher shortage is "a little bit in dreamland."
The rift highlights the growing tension between the Republican-dominated Legislature and the nonpartisan state Board of Education, a conflict that erupted when the board refused to implement private-school vouchers while the legality of the program was uncertain.
The latest dispute comes over a plan designed to increase teacher salaries, attract more people into the profession and send high-school graduates out earlier -- all without raising taxes.
The proposal by a Washington School District official in southwestern Utah is embraced by Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, co-chairman of a committee that focuses on teacher shortages and compensation.
Under Lyle Cox's plan, schools would create a school calendar with three semesters. High-school students would pick at least two, but some could attend all three and graduate early. At the elementary level, students would attend three semesters but for half a day.
Teachers would earn about 60 percent more because they would be working more, Cox said.
Schools would be able to afford higher salaries because they would need fewer teachers. Classes would be smaller. In growing districts, money would be saved by using buildings all year instead of building new schools, Cox said.
"It seems to me to be a no-brainer," Stephenson said during a committee meeting last week.
But the details make the plan more difficult.
Cox's proposal depends on an equal number of high-school students in each semester. Some might be forced to attend during a semester they don't want. Students who take Advanced Placement courses could go months between the end of class and their national exams.
Parents of younger children would have to give up traditional summer breaks, and teachers would have to be willing to work more hours.
"The Lyle Cox model is a little bit in dreamland. We need to use realism," school board member Debra Roberts said. "Yes, it might be very good for five districts, but we have 40 districts. ... I think even Lyle himself would say there are problems with this model."
Cox doesn't dispute that more work needs to be done with his proposal. It also needs a public-relations campaign, he said Tuesday.
"The only way you can really do it is to change a mindset that's been around for years and look at this in a totally different way -- and that's not easy," he said.
Stephenson and committee co-chairman Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, are livid with Roberts for her comments during the hearing.
"What I'm learning is that the die-hard education advocates have a different goal than the public. Their goal seems to be simply to get more money as opposed to using that money efficiently," Stephenson said.
"When a proposal will improve teacher pay, improve productivity, increase the use of our school buildings and actually reduce the need for additional buildings, the education community is suddenly cold to the idea and instead pushes proposals to raise taxes and increase spending," he said.
Roberts, however, didn't propose higher taxes and didn't say she was opposed to testing the year-round calendar.
She said she didn't think it was a good statewide model, particularly in low-growth, rural districts where cost savings would be difficult to achieve. Roberts said there would be additional costs, such as air conditioning in the summer and maintenance work at night.
Phone messages left for Roberts were not returned Tuesday.
Hughes said he didn't know if Roberts' comments were the result of bad blood between the school board and Legislature.
"I thought some of her comments were inappropriate for constructive dialogue," he said. "Reform in public education does not come easily. When you even explore radical changes or different ideas, there's an inherent opposition to that."
Created: Tuesday, 02 Oct 2007, 7:11 PM MDT
SALT LAKE CITY -- By BROCK VERGAKIS
Associated Press Writer
A lawmaker seems even more committed to getting school districts to consider a year-round calendar, after a state school board member said the proposed remedy to Utah's teacher shortage is "a little bit in dreamland."
The rift highlights the growing tension between the Republican-dominated Legislature and the nonpartisan state Board of Education, a conflict that erupted when the board refused to implement private-school vouchers while the legality of the program was uncertain.
The latest dispute comes over a plan designed to increase teacher salaries, attract more people into the profession and send high-school graduates out earlier -- all without raising taxes.
The proposal by a Washington School District official in southwestern Utah is embraced by Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, co-chairman of a committee that focuses on teacher shortages and compensation.
Under Lyle Cox's plan, schools would create a school calendar with three semesters. High-school students would pick at least two, but some could attend all three and graduate early. At the elementary level, students would attend three semesters but for half a day.
Teachers would earn about 60 percent more because they would be working more, Cox said.
Schools would be able to afford higher salaries because they would need fewer teachers. Classes would be smaller. In growing districts, money would be saved by using buildings all year instead of building new schools, Cox said.
"It seems to me to be a no-brainer," Stephenson said during a committee meeting last week.
But the details make the plan more difficult.
Cox's proposal depends on an equal number of high-school students in each semester. Some might be forced to attend during a semester they don't want. Students who take Advanced Placement courses could go months between the end of class and their national exams.
Parents of younger children would have to give up traditional summer breaks, and teachers would have to be willing to work more hours.
"The Lyle Cox model is a little bit in dreamland. We need to use realism," school board member Debra Roberts said. "Yes, it might be very good for five districts, but we have 40 districts. ... I think even Lyle himself would say there are problems with this model."
Cox doesn't dispute that more work needs to be done with his proposal. It also needs a public-relations campaign, he said Tuesday.
"The only way you can really do it is to change a mindset that's been around for years and look at this in a totally different way -- and that's not easy," he said.
Stephenson and committee co-chairman Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, are livid with Roberts for her comments during the hearing.
"What I'm learning is that the die-hard education advocates have a different goal than the public. Their goal seems to be simply to get more money as opposed to using that money efficiently," Stephenson said.
"When a proposal will improve teacher pay, improve productivity, increase the use of our school buildings and actually reduce the need for additional buildings, the education community is suddenly cold to the idea and instead pushes proposals to raise taxes and increase spending," he said.
Roberts, however, didn't propose higher taxes and didn't say she was opposed to testing the year-round calendar.
She said she didn't think it was a good statewide model, particularly in low-growth, rural districts where cost savings would be difficult to achieve. Roberts said there would be additional costs, such as air conditioning in the summer and maintenance work at night.
Phone messages left for Roberts were not returned Tuesday.
Hughes said he didn't know if Roberts' comments were the result of bad blood between the school board and Legislature.
"I thought some of her comments were inappropriate for constructive dialogue," he said. "Reform in public education does not come easily. When you even explore radical changes or different ideas, there's an inherent opposition to that."
3 comments:
Take away my family's summer vacation and that is the last straw. I would home school my children. Our summer vacation is a key part of their education. It allows my children to travel to historic sites, national and state parks. It allows them to rub shoulders with their siblings that are married or in college. That in itself is an education.
If you take away our summer vacation, you take parents (a key component) out of the education process.
Right on Anonymous. My kids will never go to year round school.
These ideas might have merit, but they mainly demonstrate that there should be alternatives to standard schools and one size fits all schedules. The approach suggested might work in some communities but not in others. The alternatives could be offered by charter schools, or by private schools accessed with the aid of tuition vouchers. As with so many other ideas to change education, why not get away from that uniform system and give parents the freedom to decide which format works best for educating their own children? The fact is that each child is different, and the environment in which they learn best is different too.
For example, one of my sons had problems concentrating in the normal high school schedule of 50 minutes per class. However, when he went to a year of nursing school in the Army, where they concentrated on one subject matter area each week, he was an outstanding student. If he had attended a high school with the same kind of schedule, he would have done much better in his academic studies.
What vouchers really offer is the ability to find the right kind of school for each child. No doubt the standard public school format will continue to work well for many. I did well in Utah schools growing up, although I was in special programs from junior high school on for part of each day, and eventually left for college a year early.
Post a Comment