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Show Wednesday, December 11, 1974 Page 3 REORGANIZATION the total attendance of Park City's schools. Busing Statistics on busing were provided by Mrs. Jo Ann Rodgers. Although busing Faulty Data the more convincing arguments presented at the meeting came from Mr. Bob Wells, a vice president of the Greater Park City Company. Saying it is very difficult to disagree with the intent of the report (Boren Report k . . the criteria is not properly weighed" in regards to Park Hie data used is City. would not be a product of reorganization, it would occur if consolidation became a One of reality. Mrs. Rodgers stated a bus ride from the Summit Park section of the Park City school district to Coalville would require one hour and 18 minutes and the ride to Kamas would consume one hour and 50 minutes. A child in extra participating primarily historic rather than present or projected. It does not consider the social aspect. Park City is very curricular activities could conceivably be picked up at 6: 45 AM and nut return home until 7 PM. Road hazards were also given as arguments against busing. Mrs. Rodgers, using official statistics, said local roads required plowing 61 days last year and that 51 percent of area storms deposit more than three inches of snow. Also noted was the length of a trip from Park City to Coalville or Kamas and then to Salt Lake City if a child had to be taken from school for dental or other reasons and driven to S.L.C. The journey would total over 100 miles. distinct the com- Finances The GPCC official stated that each new school child entering the Park City district is accompanied by $33,000 increase in the assess" valuation of the city, which is double that of the other communities. "Park City, as a small school district, can totally support itself, he said. Community School After hitting consolidation rather than reorganization, Mrs. Amanda Petersen spoke on the advantages offered by a community school. The community volunteer program being employed by Park City schools was given as an example. At present, 34 volunteers spend an average of 81 hours per week assisting teachers in the local school system. Mrs. Petersen also me- Far Reorganization Unintimidated by the myriad of facts and figures thrown out, Mr. Wright defended the recommendations made by the Boren Report. Mr. Wright, an attorney by profession, is a representative of the Davis County School District on tne state school board as well as serving as its chairman. Davis is the second largest district in the state and has a student population of 32,000. The state school board has a mandate to insure that there is a uniform school system in Utah, Mr. Wright said. The board chairman used the words consolidation enrichment ntioned from munities of Coalville and Kamas." A different decision would have been reached if the Boren Report related to people rather than numbers, Mr. Wells said. and special which would be projects lacking at a consolidated programs" sch(X)l. The recreational opportunities inherent to Park inCity were stressed. Mrs. and reorganization Petersen commented on the terchangeably, although personnel in stating the terms were not specialized skiing, fishing, tennis, and synonymous. other sports who are available to local students. Every Study The work release program Mr. Wright asserted that b which provides every study conducted has training for students would recommended that Summit fall by thp wayside if school .County, schools i be consolidation came to be,' reorganized: He said the state Mrs. Petersen said. legislature asked that the Stressing the importance of Boren Report be compiled a the family unit, Mrs. Peterfact later refuted by Senator sen stated. "The Park City Clyde and that he would not community dx?s a lot for its apologize for its content. schixils and its schools do a I'm convinced lot for the community. "She reorganization should ocsaid if consolidation occurs, cur." Mr. Wright stated. "The children will lose. on-jo- . Dropouts Mrs. Susan Armstrong promoted the small school concept by telling the audience that Salt Lake City schools have a dropout rate of 6.46 percent and the Granite School District students leave before graduation at the rate of 4.15 percent. Applying these percentages to the total enrollment figures, Mrs. Armstrong stated the number of students dropping out of these large school districts exceeds Advantages The quality of teaching staffs, the number of course offerings, special services, and instructional media were all areas which would benefit from reorganization, Mr. Wright said. He commented on the 36 percent high school teacher turnover rate in Park City and the 55 percent of the high school teachers who are in- structing courses which were Council Reviews Nielsens Road And Mawhinneys Sign continued from page 1 not in their main area of proficiency. Mr. Wright said PCHS had an average of only ten course offerings per grade as compared with 48 in some of the larger districts. Special services, such as medical treatment, guidance special counseling, and others, could education, result from a larger school district, he claimed. Contrul Responding to comments concerning the loss of community control which would be by produced reorganization, Mr. Wright pointed to the Thaynes Canyon and Holiday Ranch situation. He noted that although parents living in areas send their these children to Park City schools, they have no voice in the school administration. Busing If I thought reorganization would result in one elementary school student being bused, I would fight it," the state chairman said. "There is no need to close elementary schools, and there is no problem as far as having elementary school children being bused." lineal Decisions Reiterating was reorganization Ed Vetter and Rick Gardner of Prospector Square Ann The subjects of two recent and ongoing controversies came before the Park City Council at its December 5Ui meeting. Mr. Klwond Nielsen and his proposed road, and Mr. Bill Mawhinney and his proposed plastic sign were brought before the Council fur action, hut no action was taken on either. Both Mr. Nielsen and Mr. Mawhinney have lawsuits pending in connection with these two issues. Prince that not con- Mr. Wright Reorganization would give you the power to do what you want to do with your schools. Elected officials will make the solidation, remarked, decisions, not the state board. I)r. Boren Reports Presenting much of the same information given by Mr. Wright, Dr. Boren told the audience to "pick the best and shovel the rest. He cited the cost involved in accommodating every community in respect to their own schools. Economy was the main reason for looking at reorganization. Dr. Boren said. ljirge Schools Although his report recommends reorganization and not consolidation, Dr .Boren spent much of his timCex-- s tolling the virtues of large . schools versus small schools. He used comparative analysis to demonstrate the economy of school consolidation. Summit County spends a total of $109,428 in its three administrating school districts. The Wasatch district, comparable in size to a combination of the three districts, spends only $50,000, and Sevier, which has almost 1,200 more students, budgets $66,240 only for administrative purposes. Echoing Mr. Wrights wor- ds, Dr. Boren stated: Reorganization is not consolidation. Consolidation has to be determined by local school boards. Ninety-nin- e nercent of the and nine-tent- argument against tf i st: i Senator Clyde reorganization is fought on the basis of consolidation, not reorganization." Senator Clyde Responds Declaring I can correct an untrue statement". State Senator Robert Clyae took the floor. Referring to the Boren Report, he said, What the legislature asked for is not at alf what we got." Speaking to Dr. Boren and Mr. Wright, Clyde stated. You were not mandated by the legislature. Mr. Clyde asserted that the Boren Report was not commissioned by an official act of the legislature and that it was a whitewash", the conclusions of which were reached before the study began. Mr. Wright partially conceded the legal aspect, saying the Boren Report was instigated by a legislative council. Precedents Senator Clyde referred to previous votes taken on the school consolidation issue. Stating it had been defeated 29 times before, he said what the people want should be the prime Lang laufen Lederhozen' ITALIAN CUISINE an elegant but casual atmosphere The bar is now open from 9 p.m.-- l a.m . QUIET SPORTS SKI SCHOOL MINI-BOTTL- 6:30-10:3- Certified Instruction Rentals - Retail High Country Touring Overnig hters Full Moon Tours Snowshoes AND WINE AVAILABLE ES 0 pm Tuesday thru Saturday 6pm-10p- m Sunday Closed Monday 41 2 MAIN STREET -- - PARK CITY Written Recoin inrndalion Mr. Nielsen appeared before the Council seeking some type of approval for a road he wishes to build on his Masonic Hill property. Mr. Nielsen had started excavation work on the road several months ago, but a cease and desist order from the city brought the project to a halt. The developer responded to this action by filing a $7.5 million dollar lawsuit against Mayor John Price, Councilman Jan Wilking, the Greater Park City Company and its president Warren King for, among other things, conspiracy. Mr. Nielsen's contention is that he should be allowed to build a private road on private property. In light of engineer John Probascos warnings about possible hazards which could result, City Attorney Carl Nemelka responded to the contrary. Mr. Nemelka stated, My recommendation is that . . . we have a recommendation in writing to the Planning Commission from the city engineer. At that point, the question was raised as to who is the city engineer. John Probasco has been assuming that position, but it was argued that the firm of Bush and Gudgell was legally the city engineer and that Probasco, a Bush and Gudgell employee, was only an agent of that firm. A quandary arose when it was learned that Mr. Nielsen had an opinion from another Bush and Gudgell engineer. Mr. Robert Jones, stating his road could be constructed without hazard. Investigation the following day indicated that Mr. Probasco was indeed the city engineer. The Council decided that Mr. Nielsen would have to obtain a building permit from the Planning Commission before doing any road building. It also passed a motion advising the Planning Commission to take no action on the matter until it received a written recommendation from the city engineer, whomever that may be. Sign Appeal Mr. Mawhinney appealed the denial of a plastic sign Elwood Nielsen and Attorney General Motors has provided him with for his automotive dealership. City Attorney Nemelka noted that the sign issue had been tabled by the Planning Commission thus, in effect, denying the sign." Councilman Mary Lehmer revealed the Planning Commission does not have the power to approve or deny sign permits, only to make recommendations to the City Council. This came as a surprise to many in that the Commission has been approving and denying signs for quite some time. cited Mr. Mawhinney existing plastic signs as precedents for approval for his sign. He also pointed out that plastic signs are not prohibited under the sign ordinances which were in effect at the time of his application. The Council agreed that it would review the recommendations of the Planning Commission and then come to a decision on the matter. Amended Plat The City Council voted to accept the amended plat of the Prospector Square Development. Lot sizes for the development have been redrawn to smaller square footages so as to increase the number of lots. The new lot sizes exceed cityminimums. After the plat approval, the company's six percent donation to the city was discussed. Mr. Ed Vetter, head of the project, said. I think we have to be very cooperative with the city in that area." He expressed a desire to see a new Are station built, and this seemed to lx? in line with Council thinking. Mr. Vet t w also gave ;a flowery speech delineating the attributes of his Prospector Square project and listing what he thought to be its many benefits 4a the city. Try, Try Again As was the case at the Council's previous meeting, no action was taken on the proposed new business license fee schedule. A special meeting was set for December 12 at 7 PM. The sole purpose of this meeting will be-tenact a new fee schedule. o : Impoundment Charge Raised At (he request of Mr. Cliff : Read, the cost of retrieving an impounded car was raised from $1 to $2. It is thought : that this increase will I motivate impounded car..' owners to claim their vehicles more expediently. The Council also moved to' have all impounded cars; taken to the lot at Kimball: Junction, rather than leaving! some of them m city property: as has been the policy in the': past. v I Licenses ' , The City Council granted; business licenses to Mr.! James Park as a general coot i tractor, the Tramway Lodge! the Mountain Park City . Fishery-restaurant- Ac-- : commodations and Travel.-Incthe White Mule Saloon, ami tlx? Le Snac Number 3 restaurant . , i ., |