Comments about ‘Letter: Utah's students above national average, still low funding’

It is crucial that Utah Public Education continue to do amazingly well with the resources we have using great teachers, innovation, and technology. Funding is already in place.

Education in Utah must be and is a priority. With approx. 600,000 K-12 students in Utah, It takes a lot of commitment. Out of the $5 Billion total "State" funds we invest approx. $2.5 Billion to K-12 Public Education and approx. $750 Million to Higher Education. Even with $13 Billion to work with including "State" funds and also funds for Federal Programs and others, we invest $3.7 Billion to K-12 Public Education and $1.4 Billion for Higher Education.

With the currently available resources, Utah does not have enough money for the demands for Public Education, Transportation, Water, Public Safety, Energy and others. Raising Taxes isn't the answer as that can create bigger government and slower economic growth.

Utah is shooting for mediocrity. Just enough to get by. A few bucks in the pocket today is more important than a big payoff from investing in the future.

I recall some recent findings (published and editorialized in the DN) that test scores were slipping.

Funding is not the same as quality. That is incontestable. But quality without funding requires someone to be voluntarily providing educational resources. So ultimately (if the funds are well spent) there is a relationship between funding and quality.

Utah has had the benefit of good parenting and a relatively homogeneous population. As this changes, schools will require additional funding in order to bring more resources to bear.

Some people say that spending more money on education is unnecessary, and that we shouldn't just "throw money" at the problem. Maybe we should consult one of the best "cost benefit" men in the country for his opinion. The financially astute Mitt Romney sent his brood to the Belmont Hill School, which has a day tuition rate of $31,000/year per student, which is about 5 times what Utah spends per student.
So if spending more money on education doesn't increase learning is Mitt wasting his "hard earned" money?

and yet, here comes Mitt Romney for the 3rd time in the last few months sniffing for more money.

Imagine how many more teachers we could have hired, desks, field trips, and more materials we could have added to our education system with the money we've "donated" to a millionaire's campaign. On top of that, he's going to lose.

What a waste.

People of Utah, do something for the long term well-being of your state for a change rather than temporary pleasure. PLEASE!

Hope that same attitude holds for the $40,000 a plate fundraisers another candidate has been attending.

That said, think of what could have been accomplished with the $8 million plus one Senate candidate spent just to get past the primaries in Utah.

Utah gives education lip service. They are trying to force it into a private system that will only benefit for profit businesses. The only reason we do as well as we do is because of the dedicated teachers and parents that emphasized it. Does education have issues? Yes. Will they be solved by making it only for those who can afford it? Absolutely not. You want to demand more from educators? OK but they had better be paid like doctors and CEO's because who is more important to our future than our kids?

The simple fact is that more money is not the answer. Just look at where money is being wasted. Right now, utah has increased its spending 250% compared to 1960 (this is after adjusting for inflation). Out of the $6000+ that Utah spends per pupil on education, only 65% of that makes it to classroom instruction. Rather than throwing more money at the problem, lets get more money to the classroom. Do we really need 200+ people working in district offices?

Also, when you compare spending to test results the facts always come out showing that test results are not related to money spent. We have doubled our spending, and scores are slipping. Money is not the problem, society it.

Some of you complain that private schools cost more than public education, and they have better test results. The issue isn't the instruction, but the parents. If you spent $8,000/yr or more for your kids to go to a private school, wouldn't you make sure they do well in every subject, or would a D be ok with you?

Utah funding for education shows what you really believe your kids are worth. Not much.