Comments about ‘Layoffs a jolt for Jordan School District’

Losing a prep period every other day will mean that I physically cannot contact parents except on alternating days. My contract time from 2:30-3:00pm will be taken up with helping the few kids I can address on the 4-period block schedule days with make-up, extra help, etc. It doesn't matter that I arrive before 6:00am as kids won't come in before 7:20am anyway. Our Superintendent has stated that "the time from 7:00am to 3:00pm is owned by the District and if we need to add classes, they will teach them". OK, but what happens to the 3-4 hours a day I have to add to grade the essays and writing I give as a top-flight educator? Is it still considered a "calling" here in Utah to teach so we should expect to volunteer 3 hours a day to score the work required to produce those phenomenal test scores? Am I now excused from any work after 3:00pm? It appears the parents of my students are, but not me, as I will now need to volunteer additional time on top of what is given.

As a former teacher and administrator in Jordan School District, I feel this is a major crisis for parents, students, and district employees. If given the choice, what teacher would opt to teach in Jordan District if they had an opportunity to teach elsewhere? No prep periods, larger class size loads, and uncertain support from the district and community all add up to the lowest morale I've observed since 1973. The school board needs to be courageous and raise the tax base, west side residents need to step up to the plate and pay the $50 more per household to educate their children plus, the legislature needs to step up and help equalize the funding throughout the state's districts. Teachers are being asked to carry the brunt of this issue. I am so grateful my grandchildren are not in Jordan District.

Obviously if this type of impact can be felt by teachers alone without the support of JEA there will be many who will question exactly what their $500+ dues are worth annually. This is the watershed. Expect some type of reaction within 24 hours. If not, the JEA union will cease to exist as a relevant body. Why do I hold this view? I saw it this afternoon as various departments in my school held ad hoc meetings and questioned what can be done about this event.

This problem can only have one outcome. If you truly believe you must have a large family, you must pay personally for the education of every child. That means a head tax. It WILL arrive, and this event only serves to hasten it's eventual onset.

Once the economy reverts back to normal, Jordan teachers wil NOT go back to a block schedule where they teach 3 of 4 per day and have a conference. They will teach 4 for 4 on alternating days forever. What is lost is lost forever. The freezing of salaries (steps and lanes) will never be restored and will affect teachers for the rest of their careers until retirement. Oh, and retirement is being attacked as well! Add 4.5 students per class to the state (and District) with the highest class loads in the nation. Add another class but don't pay the teachers to teach it (that will REALLY perturb the teachers who this year sacrificed to take an additional class and got paid for it but WON'T next year!)

The JSD is now covertly described as a laughingstock District. Remember GASB? We lost 400 teachers so we could fund new school construction instead. We are a public embarrassment.

You are seeing the beginning of the end. JSD will lose quality with incredible rapidity and it is only a matter of time before students, not teachers, flee to the Canyons in order to save their education.

I'm sorry, but they should have raised taxes to cover this shortfall.

My only true desire is to remain in the area and in contact with education long enough to see the corrosion of Jordan District come full circle and result in complete anarchy or revamping of what is truly important in the education of a child. We have lost our way and it is apparent the only thing that can reverse the trend in this District is total collapse of the educational system followed by common sense, application of District monies where 'the rubber meets the road', and input from teachers who have a stake in the outcome.

I hope the one lone man who fueled the District split is happy with his opportunity to have a School Board that is more closely aligned with his goals. The correlary outcome is the destruction of a full eduactional system.

Today's news indicates a renewed interest in taxation due to "the public not understanding the true impact of the initial tax request from the District." Perhaps we should incorporate a few homeowners into our 10th Grade Financial Literacy classes?

Anyone that thinks that real education can take place in overcrowded classrooms just hasn't looked at the research or taught in that kind of situation. Worn out, discouraged teachers with students who are just being kept in huge day care centers is a formula for disaster. If parents are truly interested in their child's education, then the only option is home school or a good private school.

There is only one option for educators in this District. You must change the way you teach. To try to be dynamic for 4 consecutive high school periods is impossible, particularly if you are doing extra assignments (coaching, debate, student government, etc.) afterschool. You just physically and emotionally will not be able to maintain the fire, so more movies, packets, and ungraded assignmments will become the norm for even the best teachers.

If the Superintendent states that 7:00am-3:00pm is 'contract time', will teachers adopt the philosophy of the parents and quit giving the 'extra' that is so normal now? This will be catastrophic to the long-term progress of the District and has but one positive result. The actions of the Board will accelerate the demise of the District and hasten the reconstruction of a proper school system, paid for by the public and not the teachers, much faster than it would have otherwise occurred.

Ladies and gentlemen, you WILL reap what you sow. Remember these times and the actions of a few that will destroy so many.

Why not cancel all bus service for the district. What does this cost a district each year. The fuel, the buses, the insurance. Pretty much all parents could drive their kids (or find a ride for them) if they really needed to. Buses are a really, really expensive luxury.

Six years ago I accepted an offer to teach in Jordan District and it was perhaps the worst decision I have ever made. Even if I survive the cuts, what do I get? 4 more kids in my class and no sniff at a raise for several more years.

I received inquiry after inquiry from parents today, worried about the future of their child's classroom. Every one of them told me they would happily pay extra taxes for a quality education. Where were these people six months ago?

If you live in Jordan District - please call your school board member and let your voice be heard!

Educators, Give em what they pay for and nothing else. Some of us know the true nature of public educations and the impossible endeavor that is there. We know of dealing with enabling parents, and striving to meet impossible expectations year after year. Changing the "program" twice a year, but not having the tools to implement. Some of us know. Give em what they pay for, and nothing else.

What about the other obvious, start making some other cut, Why are we so afraid to say it, GET RID OF SPORTS. It has got to be the most NON needed parts of school. I know, we are so afraid to say that. Isn't Jordan district the one that sent a team to Texas to get their butts beat. Get rid of sports. Then you are saving on, coaching, busing, travel, field care, all sorts of stuff. Then maybe, just maybe we can get some more kids to work that hard to get a real scholarship and not just a sports dependent one. I know that my city has an excellent well established system of community sports, club sports, and other such activities. Lets put the sports back to the community where it belongs.

Have some guts strike now!

So many of us went into teaching to make a difference. It was a joy to teach and it still is when we are with our students. However, with the pressures associated with teaching, it has become a job that is all consuming in a variety of ways. In good conscience, many of us would tell young people, do not go into the field. School policies, lack of respect, paperwork, and unrealistic expectations will not only make teachers flee to other districts, but flee the profession. It is not only in the Jordan District, it is Statewide at the public and private school levels. Public and private schools are somewhat different but struggle with many of the same issues. In public schools the districts dictate and breath down your neck whereas in private schools, the parents dictate and push administrators and teachers around. Both want everything and just throw more work on the classroom teachers or blame them when things don't go well. It is too bad that the profession has come to this point. It is very, very painful to watch.

I have been teaching for 28 years in JSD. Things are becoming impossible for teachers. I already have 29 students in my 5th grade class, half of whom cannot read on grade level. This class has the most uninvolved group of parents I have had in my entire career. Families are in chaos, so these kids get no help at home. I am expected to do it all at school.

We have been told that we will lose our support staff, so we will be expected to do everything ourselves including running the library, the computer lab, and basically doing everything except cooking lunch - all with no prep time, no professional development, a pay cut, and a retirement cut. I expect that with the FTE cuts at each school, principals will be required to have a lot of split-grade classes. That will require teachers to prepare curriculum for two grades - still with no prep time.

I put the blame right on the Legislature for their stupid, short-sighted decision to split the district.

It’s tough for anyone to lose their job. We should look at this as an opportunity to rethink how we educate our children. We should focus on virtual schools, encourage home schooling and make 16 the graduation age. The SB should be applauded for their actions of not burdening the tax payers any further. We are drowning from a conglomeration of taxing authorities. We should, though, be cutting everything from busing to the top heavy bureaucracy. 30 kids to a class is a manageable number. In fact, most of my classes were that size in a private school. The SI should not have been making almost a quarter of a million a year. This is what happens when we are not vigilant with our votes. Priorities in this country are all out of whack. The politicians who pander to special interest groups have spent us into oblivion. It needs to stop. In this case the teachers are in the firing line. Others will follow. We have gotten ourselves in some serious trouble and we are going to have to pay for it.

This is a predictable result of the Republican influence in Utah. Last year, people on the East side of the Jordan District voted to split because it would suit their personal needs better. Taking 70% of the tax base and 45% of the kids meant their taxes could stay low while getting more money per kid.

Their selfish actions meant that the West side, where the most growth is occurring, would have more kids and less money from a smaller tax base. The results were predictable.

Seeing these results, I expect the Salt Lake district to see a split soon, with Highland and East High splitting off from the poor west side. The Granite district will follow suit with Skyline, Olympus, and Cottonwood leaving the poorer schools behind.

Perhaps the people of Western Salt Lake County will rethink their support of the Republican principle of taking care of myself and embrace the ideas of community.

The selfishness of the voters is a real shame.

There is plenty of hope for the district. While mistakes have certainly been made, comments suggesting we throw up our hands and give up and turn to ourselves in a fret of oncoming anarchy aren't helpful except as they point to the potential for such things to occur and to be actualized in varying degrees. Not everyone who goes into teaching "does it for the money" and while, yes, we do need as teachers more money, more respect, more support and more input and professional development supports, none of us who care about the people here are willing to throw up our hands and run. If indeed they do, I do have some censure for that, but on the whole, I find that my fellow teachers are very invested in who and what they are doing, though they do feel abandoned on certain levels right now with a lot of things changing because people view these issues in political terms and like to score points over how conservative or non-conservative an ideal our public education system is or how well it fits their personal pocket book. Yes, we need to tax. Care about our society and neighbors.

Predictable,
You are so wrong. JSD is in better shape than most if not all other districts. The only reason it is taking such drastic action is that it is either angling for more money from the Legislature or it is severely mismanaged. Consider this: Jordan took 59% of the assets in the split even though it paid only 41% of the taxes; it is the ONLY district receiving equalization funds ($12M); it is the ONLY district to pass a $283M bond with 58% of it paid by another district; it is operating with MORE WPU money than 37 OTHER districts; it has some of the lowest operating costs because it has among the newest buildings (including the brand new $75M Herriman High); it has raised more in operating funds than any other district this year by increasing taxes 20%; it has unlimited space to build its tax base that is growing even in a down economy (i.e. Jordan approved two RDAs in the last few months and is considering another).

Jordan District is NOT poor and to keep thinking that is the real shame.

I'm really glad I don't live in the Jordan School District. In order for things to go to the extreme that they are they must not be handling their school funding very well. Instead of getting rid of your teachers why don't you get rid of useless programs LIKE SPORTS!!! I think kids need an education more then football. Raise your property taxes if you want good teachers..one comment in the article said he wanted the teachers but not the taxes to be raised. Well, you can't have your cake and eat it too. And I would definately put a stop to any developing of new houses in that area, that would just add to all of your troubles.