Comments about ‘Utah Legislature: House OKs bill to ease Jordan District cuts’

schools are wasting so much money on support services and capital improvements that this would probably be a good fix, but the state needs to perform an audit of all schools and there support services maybe they could consolidate them such as wharehouses and maintenance

I hope it passes, Grand District needs it too. For a limited two years, and in a down economy, its a good thing.

I also hope Jordan keeps their teachers, and downsizes their support/admin to the new size of their district so taxes dont have to be raised again!!!! This is a reprieve Jordan - take it, fix your problems, and give us a break!

This is our future people! I speak for all of my peers when I say that it isn't fair that we have to suffer because people don't want to pay more taxes. This is really affecting me and my fellow classmates. We have no say in this at all. We need to let our voices be heard loud and clear! The split is done, we can't do anything about that but we could at least pay slightly higher taxes. Is 10-20$ a month really gonna set you back that far? If you don't pay higher taxes these people are going to lose their jobs. And if you have kids... are they not worth the couple dollars a month. Think about it. Think about how this will affect the next generation. Please.

If Jordan lays off 400 or 500 people, that would result in a loss of 1,000 or more jobs on the west side as laid off people quit supporting other businesses who in response need to cut back on their employee numbers or hours. Avoiding layoffs is important to allowing for the economic recovery and then build-up of the west side.

More than half of Jordan District schools are already year-round. And that decision was made at the LOCAL LEVEL, not dictated by the state.

Good temporry fix, but no more builing untill the district fixes their problems. Cut from the top down. The private sector citizens cannot pay more taxes. Students who are serious about an education will still excell because of their efforts, no amount of money will ever be enough. Cut the non-essential programs completley and teach core subjects. Eliminate waste from administration to programs. Problem solved.

The legislature is relying on the judgment of those in the individual districts that have proven time and again that they are not capable of fiscal responsibility. Why should every single tax payer in the state of Utah regardless of family size be forced to support irresponsibility? While I understand the plight of the districts and I well understand the importance of education why issue a two year blank check? There are no safeguards written into this bill save a sunset clause. What mechanism holds the district bosses accountable? Will district heads roll if they squander this opportunity? In two years will districts beg for new building bonds because the legislature allowed exploitation of building funds now? Why should we as tax payers believe that a stern warning and a finger wave is adequate? The times demand fiscal responsibility and tough choices. The residents of Utah have had enough. The school districts do not run the state. The school districts do not control state purse strings. The time has come for Utahn's to require that each district balance their books without parliamentary tricks and creative accounting. Please I urge the state legislature to stop the school district bailouts.

Mr. Bigelow hardly knows all the details about how a school district operates or spends money. Each district, and I know this rankles the legislature, is a kingdom unto itself.

If this particular bill will give districts some flexibility, let's give it to them. It is the districts that serve students, not the legislature.

The State Legislature is avoiding to directly address the real issue of equity and citizen representation. Equalization and fairness and democratic representation are the principles that the State Legislature has a responsibility to address in this matter, not internal budgetary manipulation that only masks covers up what the real problem is.

Rep. Bigelow is absolutely correct. The prohibition against using building funds for salaries was there for a reason. Without it, pressure will always be there to spend it instead of using it for what it was intended. After it is used up and built into the budget, then the crisis will be for school buildings. Actually we are hurting more for enough school buildings in growing areas than we are for enough teachers.

I feel this is a bad bill for the long run, even though it solves an immediate crisis.

Maybe if the west side had been allowed to vote on the Jordan/Canyons division, they wouldn't be having a thirty million dollar shortcoming.

The state should take all the money gathered from taxes for the schools and divide it by how many students there are in the state. Equality for all, regarless of where you live.

While the desnews reports that SB175 will create more guidelines for the controversial county-wide "equalization" law which makes Salt Lake, Murray, Granite, and Canyons school districts "contribute" millions of dollars each to Jordan district, what they failed to report is some of the rationale behind this bill.

People started realizing that in a few years with the present law that Jordan would have to start paying money to other needy school districts such as Granite who "gives" millions annually to Jordan right now. So, they actually argue that they want the law to end before that happens to protect Jordan.

What is it about Jordan District that makes politicians want to prop them up even if they have more money and less students than some other districts in the state? They want to give them advantages in the likely event in a few years that they are more well-off than their neighbors.

They need to stand on their own as an independent school district solving their local problems with local representation just like every other district in the state.

The legislature does control the purse strings. Too often they also want to micro manage the educational program where they have limited expertise.

These laws/bills, although appreciated for the jobs they will save, will only be a temporary fix to the REAL problem: Jordan District's gross financial mismanagement. There is more fiscal waste in the workings of this district than is known publicly. The split happened because of this mismanagement. There needs to be FAR more accountability for district level spending (an investigative financial audit is needed) and a far smaller size of district level administrative positions. Even the briefest review of Jordan's district office staff would reveal this--it is gossly top heavy and way overpaid. I fear that this "blank check" as it has been called will exacerbate the problem in Jordan. Two years from now, I PROMISE you Jordan will be in worse shape than it is now. The ONLY way to fix this is to clean house entirely. Some JSD board members should be replaced and ALL district level management should be replaced--the super, the executive directors and all their secretaries, as well as, many other positions. These people probably mean well, but they are so disconnected to what happens in schools and they spend like an irresponsible corporation (ie Enron, etc.)

Please, Mr. Insider--as an educator who weekly swings between being disappointed or disgusted with how education is run, if you have anything specific help get things out on the table. The risk Jordan has taken by playing this set of cards is that someone might take a look--there is a stronger spotlight right now on this as politicians are debating these issues right now and people are getting involved like they have never before.

The status quo cannot stand.

I AM currently trying to get it to the light of day for the public to see. For example, I think EVERY taxpayer & parent should know that the Super. makes more than the President of the US and the Governor of Utah, which is laughable.
$10,000 was spent on Wicked musical tickets at a model schools conference in Chicago which was attended by various school and district level employees. This doesn't seem like a lot, but if all the spending was looked at seriously, you would find examples like this all over the place going back many, many years.
The new JSD logo purportedly cost $100,000, paid to a professional advertising/PR agency. It may have only cost $20,000-I am still investigating the actual amount. But, surely thousands were paid for a logo that arguably could have been created in 5 minutes by a child using photoshop.
$300,000 is being spent on a sign for the district office, which is another questionable expenditure.
In one of the greatest twists of irony, JSD employs a spokesperson for the budget (her salary?) when there is a huge shortfall and teachers are being fired. More later...

Thanks, JSD insider--this is the problem with the status quo. The super. makes that much money, which he justified eralier by saying it was the largest district in the state, bleah, bleah, but now that they have fewer students what do they do. It is very rare for the status quo to voluntarily initiate and approve any reduction in power, pay, position. That is understandable. But it means that the job is up to us, the people, and the board elected by the people, and the teachers, and the students, and everyone not fully vested in or directly benefitting from the status quo.

I agree, the status quo must change. If not, the same people will be making the same bad financial decisions and ultimately, the losers are the kids within the system. You are right, they will never voluntarily change and this situation is an opportunity to alert the public, wipe the slate clean and start over. That would help fix Jordan, and probably be a precedent setter for school district reform for bloated districts all across the country. Although, what I really want is accountability for this district because I am a taxpayer and parent with kids in Jordan schools. As such, this is very personal to me. I am doing all I can, but in my position it is hard. A good investigative report and thorough use of the Freedom of Information Act could do a lot to inform the public about the financial workings of this district. That would do so much more to help the situation than the bailout the legislature is trying to create with these bills. Also, there is a land purchase by the JSD I am investigating. Land by the district office at Jordan Landing was apparently way overpaid for: $14 million instead of $7.

Thanks again. This is a good place to start.

I have a great idea. Lets shut down the new high school Herriman High before it opens next fall and save all of those new positions. Bingham and Riverton can handle the load they are doing it today.