Jordan teachers organizing; students to pay price for protesting

WEST JORDAN — During the past week, hundreds of students have walked out of class to protest potential layoffs in Jordan School District. Teachers may be next.

Copper Hills High School principal Todd Quarnberg said a teacher who taught English and debate at his school resigned via e-mail Monday, saying she could "no longer handle the pressure" of impending layoffs, nor deal with the idea of having more students in her class.

"It was devastating to me," Quarnberg said. "She was an awesome teacher."

Teachers are considering walking out, said Sara Newberry, a district teacher representative, but she said that there is no strike planned at this point.

"It would be a last resort," she said. "We would give public warning first."

At a public information meeting Tuesday night at Bingham High School, Newberry instead encouraged teachers and parents to attend a rally today at the Capitol. "If we can't be heard, we can't save our schools," said Newberry, who teaches English at Bingham High.

The educator gave the audience of about 200 a budget lesson and fielded questions in the Bingham High auditorium.

Bingham High football coach Dave Peck gave the audience a pep talk. "We are not going to accept what has been put in front of us," he told the cheering crowd.

The crowd wasn't as large as the 500 teachers, students and parents who turned out last Tuesday to attend the Jordan School Board meeting to let their voices be heard about the looming budget cuts. Jordan District faces a $30 million deficit.

Two days later, several hundred students walked out of class. A handful of teens protested at the Capitol Friday and a couple of dozen kids walked out of Fort Herriman Middle School Monday.

Jordan District officials said it's up to individual school principals to handle the repercussions of students leaving school to protest teacher layoffs. "The children have to face the consequences," said district spokesman Steven Dunham.

In general, Jordan District high schools require students to make up absences by attending a study and tutoring session before or after school or on Saturdays. For some students, the "protest" absence put them over their limit of allowed absences and they will have to do a make-up or suffer academically. Other students who protested had enough allowed absences to spare and will be unaffected.