Comments about ‘Education employees could get furlough’

Why stop there? Why not just abolish the entire public education system? Would it not be better to go to a 100% voucher system and move to a completely private education system?

This is outrageous! If our State does not educate its children, they will be unprepared for the workplace. As a consequence, a great many of them will make only poverty level wages and the State will be forced to increase welfare payments. In addition, society as a whole is better off if its citizens are educated in the basics of mathmatics, science, and reading.

Easy for these politicians to cut, wonder if they would take a pay decrease to help out a little?

Remind me again, have we dipped into the rainy day fund? Does anyone see any rain around here?

We could save 12.5 million for...........for................c'mon, for..................education? Oh yeah, that's what the cuts are for. What's the best way to give our kids education? Its.............umm.............umm...........oooh, I got it lets put them in school!!!!!!! Duh!!!!! We all know where that 12.5 million is going, right in the pockets of the legislators that approved the cuts. They'll say that they're just saving for the future. What is the future? Its our kids. Why are we taking money away from our future to save for the future? Answers anyone?

DUMBEST IDEA I HAVE SEEN YET!!!

Are we trying to drive away every last teacher this sorry state has left?

Did they give up their hotel per diem? Did they get furloughed for a day? Did they lose their health care? Just wondering.

Utah has too many paid holidays for government and education workers. They have 9 federal holidays and who knows how many state paid holidays plus every friday off. It would be better to reduce the number of paid days off and spread any furloughs over the span of the year and not make it a week long hardship for them. Not to mention the hardship of all of state governemt closing down for a week. It would better serve the state and its employees to make some permenant changes and not a one time hardship out of it. Of course this would have to apply to politicians too so that has little chance of happening.

If the schools do this, I am going to have to get a babysitter five more days.

A 5-day furlough means the state is not educating children? Now that is huge logical leap. I would think it is better to have a five-day furlough than to have to lay-off 5% of our teachers. In recessions, everyone takes a hit: Restaurant owners, merchants, accountants, attorneys - everyone. The schools have to economize too. The question is: 1) Do we share the pain evenly with a furlough (essentially a small wage reduction traded for a few days off), or do we lay-off 5-10% of the teachers and give those that remain a small raise.

Note to previous poster: Teachers do not receive even ONE paid holiday. The have vacation days, but they are ALL days off without pay. They are only paid for the 180-185 actual contract days. Get the facts before you spout off.

Too much top heavy people in the school districts should be gone before cutting teachers or kids days at school. Private schools are not the answer, limiting basic education would be the downfall of this country completely. Politicians are the problem of this country they waste the tax payers money on their pet projects.

Cut the ever increasing number of programs first, teacher development monies the very first of these!

Start with the State Board of Education members and move down the ladder. What ever is good for the teachers is best for the district superintendents first and there offices.

Utah spends an average of $44 per year on administration, so it's not top heavy there. The poster is correct, there are no paid holidays for teachers. So whatever they do in terms of a furlough hurts kids.

That's $44 per year per student on administration. Sorry for the oversight.

Howard Stephenson, the fox in the hen house, wants to make sure we have the businessman's perspective in education. Thank goodness! I mean what would we do without it? (Think Enron, Wall Street, Banks, Housing Industry, Recession, Etc. Etc.) Thanks Howard

Am I the only person looking at this and other funding problems asking why the legislature has cut taxes the last couple of years, even though it was reported a majority of Utahns did not support tax cuts? If taxes had not been cut would we be facing such large financial crisis?

I have always understood that a good part of financial planning was saving for the times when money is scarce. If I should do that, shouldn't my government?

Howard Stephenson want to make sure we have the businessman's perspective on education topics? I mean what would we do without it? (Think Enron, Wall Street, Banks, Housing Industry, Recession, Etc., Etc.)

It's raining, it's pouring, the legislature is snoring...