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Show Public Opinion Photos by Roger Taylor - Closing Schools by Kirk Terry Former local elementary student, now college student, Rick Miller, sees nothing but chaotic A way for people to receive an education is for them to attend the "school of hard knocks." Another opportunity would have been to attend Irving Junior High. The latter will be closed at the end of this school year; the former is constantly admitting new pupils and the doors are never locked. The recent voting of the Salt Lake Board of Education will cause the district to close it's Irving plant. Argument over the issue rasied economic based factors as the reason for closing the school. Model Cities went to the community to ask it's opinion of the closing issue, as the School Board indicates more schools must be closed in the near future. Most residents said they weren't knowledgeable on the whole closing issue, but all had opinions. The community statements disclosed many feelings of underlying evils that they said might be the results of opening Pandora's Box. It appears that the "Box" takes the form of a big yellow monster with a number of wheels and "School Bus" tatooed on the side of it. Residents feel that these multi-windowe- polluting environment products of the automotive industry won't soothe the traffic congestion in our fair community. They said that on those days when little "Johnny" and "Mary" miss being swallowed up on the corner by the yellow glutton, the children will probably have to miss that day of education at their new, strange school. traffic jams and dangerous unnecessary busing to accomplish the counterpart of closing schools. "What's the first complaint you hear?" he said. It'soverciowding . . . and now their crowding the schools moie. Millet said he can't understand behind building schools, crowding them with the leasoning students from all over the city, and then closing the schools from which the students came. Miller suppoits a realignment of funds in refill Lushing the old plants and keeping them open in the respective neighboi hoods. Mrs. Geraldine Peterson, mother of three school aged tots, doesn't want her children to have to attend a new school. Feeling the Rick Miller importance of educating her children, Mrs. Peterson said she would be very much opposed to busing as a means of bettering the system. The days her children might miss the bus, should they ever have to ride one, would probably be the day she couldn't get them to school by any other means. This closing situation, she said, wouldn't then have accomplished anything. Mrs. Ruth Phil pot feels fortunate that her childien haven't been locked out of theii neighborhood school. "If they had to - don't think I'd like my children to be bused. Acknowledging the fact that some children who have to change schools are till within I walking distance, Mrs. Phil pot said, it's dangerous enough as it is for hei children to walk the few blocks to their piesent school. Distance never accomplished anything, she said, and the busing issue which is a real and broad-scotesecondary issue hasn't really been given the consideration of which it is worthy. d Mrs. i Citing busing as his gripe with the system, Jose Herrara retold his childhood problems with I 1 ; I k i Jose Herrara elementary education and the eight mile bus trip he had to endure each day going to school. Bad weather, traffic jams, and the usual problems that might force a child to miss his ride severly inhibits the educational system, he said. A strange school in an area remote from the child's neighborhood, stressed Herrara is not favorable to the educational environment critical in elementary and secondary levels of education. Ruth Philpot |