Reader comments
Leaders discuss axing one school day to save money

Interesting that the headline for a story announcing the possibility of a shorter school year is grammatically incorrect. It should read: One FEWER day of school proposed to save money. Perhaps cutting education is not the answer.

should ask their legislators to cut some of the extremely high salaries in admin. rather than cutting programs, or teachers.

Not being a state employee, I will be mildly amused at how the state legislature leaves intact some of the astronomical salaries in state gov't. and then sits around and wonders "how they can make ends meet" in state gov't.

i.e. class sizes get increased while administrators at the state stay at 120k per year or more.

WHATS WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE?

Perhaps the legislators who pocket their hotel money even if they sleep at home should give up that practice. And Anonymous is absolutely correct.

Let's keep dumbing down the kids of tomorrow and let the fat cats keep raping Utah. Is it not time to say no to illegal children being educated at the expense of the citizen. Times are tough and if we are going to cut programs for citizens that need it then no more hand outs to those who are not legal. But to cut education is below the belt.

One day fewer of school is not going to kill a teachers salary! They can cut back on a few luxury items like non essential drinks, a few less outings to the movies, less luxury items, etc. My kids complain about having to attend their last week of school because they already took their finals the week before, etc. So then they just sit around and do much of nothing for a week. While I was in school, they started finals the Friday before school was out. We had one to two finals a day, so we could better prepare and study in the other classes and not cram. Every job and school should go to a longer day and four day week to cut back on the car gas, utilities at work, etc. Schools also only have a five minute break between classes and a thirty minute lunch, that barely allows the kids to get lunch and go from one class to the next and not enough time for potty breaks. I'd like to see the schools pay our kids urinary/kidney infections for that. Not to mention the meals they serve are unmentionable!!

Start at the top for budget cuts. Demand that school districts eliminate some of the "specialist" positions created when times were good. I know in Washington County, there are entirely too many overpaid and under-producing "specialists" at Malfunction Junction (the district office). Let's look there first!

I take that back. Let's start with the state legislature first. Lead by example, folks

We're already behind most of the other industrial countries when it comes to educating our children. We're in a budget crunch, but education has other places to cut funds rather than eliminating one day from the school calendar. If anything, I believe we need more days in the school year. If memory serves, so does Governor Huntsman.

Cut educational funds -- okay. Cut number of school days -- you've got to be kidding.

Once again, go after the Teachers..... Wrong answer Mr. Haws.
They could balance that budget tomorrow by going after a couple of high priced administrators.
Too many Chiefs, not enough Indians

Yes, it is only one day, but you know in a year or 2 they will want to slice off another day. It will get down to 140 days eventually.
Why not use hotel taxes to pay for education instead of a soccer stadium?

Keep teachers...cut administrators. Why don't you go to four day weeks. You'd save much more money that way. Isn't that why the State did that?

Trust these idiots to do some damage to children. Many of them want to do away with public education anyway. The Utah school system has been so weakened as to be worse even than the old standard for poor education, Arkansas.

Our children mean everything. Right.

Start by doing away with the state office of education and the state school board. We've got perfectly good useless people at district levels. Why waste all that money at the state level? Then, when the state rot is gone, let's talk about balancing the budget on the backs of students and teachers.

It would be sad if the world of public education was as you describe it. Fortunately, hardly anything you said even comes close to reality. Try spending some serious time as a volunteer at a school, get to know some of our good teachers, actually visit a cafeteria and have lunch. Visit a school during the last week and help out (c'mon, I dare ya). I guarantee you'll be surprised and, if you're even half-way honest, you'll change your tune.

re:tlafulluler comment at 5:50pm 1/12/09.... This is coming directly from my students, other students and even some of their own parents. My husband and I go and eat lunch with our kids once or twice a year and yes the meals are unmentionable. These schools were Syracuse Jr. and Layton Hg and WillowCreek Middle and Lehi High to be exact. My children more often than not get undercooked meals and are turned away during 1st lunch, because they have to have enough for the 2nd lunch, and yet both Lehi schools refuses to do anything. I have volunteered at schools and at the end of the school year myself many times. So I do have firsthand knowledge of these schools. I know many excellent teachers and administrators at these schools. Their work has nothing to do with school lunches, breaks or even the doing not much of anything at the end of the year or the days before Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas breaks. I speak of personal experience, knowledge and understanding.

Already dead last in funding, now Utah is going to get further behind the rest of the country with these cuts. Doesn't anyone in this state get tired and ashamed of how Utah treats its children? These lawmakers will pay for a soccer stadium and their own per-diem desires, but won't fund schools properly. Maybe if Utahns were better educated with better careers, the state would have a bigger tax base. They should charge a head tax on all the families that have lots of kids and no money. They drain our public school resources. This is shameful.

How much could we save by cutting athletics completely from the school program? Buses, coaches, maintenance of facilities cost millions. We could then fire all of those imcompetent teachers who keep their jobs by coaching.

Make parents responsible for the health and physical activity of their children. Make all sports community-based rather than school-based.

1. Cut sports
2. Prohibit any salary/benefits for school board members (5 members X 41 districts X $14,000 (full family insurance and $3,000/yr. plus travel and other perks).
3. Four day week with extanded hours.
4. About 1/2 as many mandated tests

Wonder who will start the lawsuit for violating contract...

Never mind that we are already seriously pushed past the limit for time. Now, they want better results with less time.

Get real.

Wyoming looks better everyday. Heard today that AK hires at 50k.

I happen to be a teacher at Willowcreek. You must have had the unfortunate experience of coming to our school on an off day. It is not my fault the schools are way over crowded. We do the best we can with what we have. Maybe Utahns shouldn't be so grouchy when they want to raise taxes to help pay for education. If we actually had some money then your precious kids could food. If you don't like school lunches that much...then why don't you have your kids take a sack lunch?

Oh...and by the way...in my years of working there...I have yet to see a parent come and eat lunch with their kids at school...so I think you are just blowing a bunch of hot air.

Why don't we cut a day from the legislative session. They don't do anything productive as it is.

Or maybe the legislators should stop taking pay raises and cut money from the budget that way. People out in the real world they supposedly are "working for" are struggling and legislators are pocketing money left and right.