Jordan should rethink budget cuts

The Jordan School Board is choosing to address a difficult situation by placing the burden of budget cuts on its employees. By doing this, it is missing an opportunity to preserve the quality of education in the Jordan School District by making more thoughtful choices. The board needs to reconsider other solutions to its district's budget shortfall.

The Jordan School Board should first implement the small tax increase that has been publicly supported by various surveys and community groups, including the PTA. This tax increase would cost $9.40 a month for a $200,000 home. This investment in a strong public school system will increase property values and help to attract additional businesses, which will also contribute to the economic viability of Jordan's communities.

Other school districts in Salt Lake County have increased their local taxes in order to pay more than $10 million in countywide equalization money to Jordan. It is wrong that while those districts raise taxes for Jordan's benefit, the Jordan School District does not increase its own tax effort.

Instead, the Jordan School Board has decided to lay off hundreds of employees. Laying off employees during the current recession will only delay the economic recovery of the west-side communities.

As unemployed workers quit spending money, there will be additional job losses from impacted local businesses, and this will further diminish the ability of those communities to generate tax revenues to provide quality schools and accommodate for its increasing student population.

The 2010 Legislature passed House Bill 295, "Expanded Uses of School District Property Tax Revenue," which allowed capital funds to be used for general fund purposes such as employee salaries for the next two years. This bill was passed to help school districts transition to smaller budgets. The School Board needs to inform the public about the amount of these funds that are being transferred to the general budget for 2010-11. It would be preferable if this were done before the finalization of the budget so there is opportunity for public input. The Utah State Board of Education has also allowed the use of up to five furlough days (closing the whole school district) this year as a way to address the dip in tax revenues that fund schools. Districts across the state are taking advantage of this "Band-Aid" to weather the current loss of funding and still maintain quality programs in their schools. In the case of the Jordan School District, this could generate $4 million. This money could also be used to avoid some of the current layoffs of support personnel such as teacher aides, secretaries and hallway monitors who support the effective teaching of classroom teachers and the safe and efficient running of the schools.

The Jordan School Board has an obligation to listen to its patrons. It needs to reassure both its patrons and its dedicated employees that it is acting in a responsible manner by committing to a small tax increase, using the appropriate amount of capital outlay funds and agreeing to furlough days in order for the Jordan School Board to maintain a healthy and viable school district that is able to deliver quality instruction to its students and provide strong public schools to its communities.

Robin Frodge is president of the Jordan Education Association.