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Show of 450 angry people last April to a complete zero attendance this April is an amazing turn about. What’s going on here? Not that we as a Staff were ever solidly for or against the plant itself. We were always split about 50-50 on the relative merits and legal status of the plant. But the complete public involvement troversy engendered Has the county ue the Daniel Township moratorium to reassess planning in Daniel and the the elimination of the that the plant conhas us worried. establishment, the surrounding area. Voting for the measure would have given the county six -months to reevaluate the plan and if desired ban all asphalt plants. But hey, we ensure LaRen Provost wouldn’t get stomped in the last election. And, it worked. Enough “Perpetual Republicans” that opposed the plant bought the act and narrowly reelected LaRen for another term. Of course, we ’'m a graduate of So the higher money? Whenever. schools under perform the pat answer from the school administration is, “we need more money.” Well, Wasatch School District had revenues of $32,352,715 this year. In the year 99-00 Wasatch Schools spent $4,225 per student versus a $4,159 Achievement Test administered to 5th, Ua pobee O40} ~ PENI Wasatch County. Many shuttle their kids to school in Park City, Provo or Salt Lake rather than have them attend “rehired” and draw both his full salary and full retirement simultaneously. Double dipping, or whatever other term - you want to call it. That issue aside, if a private corporation had the statistics that the Wasatch County School District has, the Board would fire the Chief v talented Chief Executive that could reinvigorate the company. Oft times it’s not the Chief Executive that is the problem, but the corporate culture they have cresarily an indictment of the skills of the house and fix a broken system. Things need to be shaken “up from the top tj GZ if ua§ firm to find them an up and coming new Chief Executive, rather sometimes drastic measures need to be taken to clean down. This is one of those times. Mr. Talbot, please retire and stay retired. To the Board of Education, hire some hard for Wasatch County it was 49. For the driving, new talented Superintendent to reinvigorate ~ to the alternative high school for some suggestions. They surely won’t find the system? It certainly isn’t the students. Since I’ve moved here, I’ve met some of the brightest, quickest kids Ive ever and seen what appeared to be more teachers in the hall talking to each other asked. Year 2000 ACT scores, national- administrators. ated or inherited. Change isn’t neces- _ was 953. For the 11th grade the Total How about test scores? Glad you and No more of the “dare to be different and this year only two students have dropped out. But a 6.8 percent drop out rate at the high school? What a waste of potential!’ What is so terribly wrong there? Perhaps they should look north school. teachers Maybe it’s time to clear out the dead- — get forced out” policy of the past. — Which brings me to the Danny Talbot question. As mentioned elsewhere in this paper, Mr. Talbot is going to “retire” for six months so he can be of the teachers is poor. The same teacher that taught them when they were in school is now teaching their children. And they weren’t very impressed with that teacher back when they were in their class. Morale, to an outsider, does seem to be low. I’ve walked through the halls of the high school when class has been in session answers by looking within their own poor less in the way of performance as demonstrated by testing. So what is the problem? Some of the old time locals complain that the quality Nj > Aeoeees Zl Ly a Y Uj rate was 3.9 percent. In ’97-98 and in 9899 the drop out rate was 4.4 percent. With the class of 2000 the drop school works with 100-120 students and or talent. And while I’ve met some truly fine teachers, ones whose classes Id like to attend even in my advanced years, I've also met some truly, truly most importantly, give them a chance. WYSE in the 96-97 school year the drop out alternative high school is limited, so more to do with advancement than skill dent, but as we've already seen, getting oe ~ once again it shows a disturbing, continuing, downward trend. For instance those who can’t get into alternative end up dropping out of the system completely. Each year the alternative high translation. wood. Bring in some new blood and, THIS SURE Is FUNNY “RITHMATIC! I just downloaded the state mandat- alternative high school. However, unfortunately the enrollment at the ber the Courier motto, “Ilegitimus Carborundum”. Call if you need a es Executive and hire some headhunting ed “District Performance Report” and that if we didn’t have such an excellent once folks understand how they've been ripped off. Don’t give up, remem- ture. So we’re spending more per stu- ON THE THREE Rs: REWARDING RETIREMENT. Wasatch County Schools. out rate was a whopping 6.8 percent! It ly seven honest people will have a chance to clean up this messy legacy. A number of lawsuits, once settled and per student statewide average expendi- TODAY'S LESSON. CLASS, IS _ WISRTCH CoMBTY coveter grades) in probably would be even higher than | to deal with tHe Initiative and hopeful- eN a ML Vd eat A , 4 - 21.0, State-21.5, Wasatch County-20.4, are appalled at the state of the schools ‘(especially Don’t give up folks. Sooner or later. the Commissioners are going to have at County School District Wasatch High.” At first I thought this - 8th and 11th graders we see the same _ results. For the 5th grade the Total was just a cute way of dismissing the Battery Average for the state was 51, question. But as I’ve spent more time here, I’ve noticed there is more than a grain of truth in this. As I talk to the newly arrived move in’s (and there are a lot of them now) almost all of them everything.) on what has been going on. Of course we can expect a rash of new ones, : “Oh well, lips ~ the facts revealed, will shed more light continuing the tradition of “excelWhen I moved to Heber Walley, _ lence”. Tradition? Yes, every year for some 10 odd years ago, I noticed a ~ the last seven years Wasatch County peculiar local saying that, at the time, I has trailed both the national and state dismissed. If some friend of mine, who -ACT Composite Score Averages. Well you say, “ACT tests are only for college had grown up in the valley, made a - bound students, how about the other, grammatical error or didn’t understand non-college bound students?” Well for : some relatively mundane question, say the year 2000 on the Stanford a civics matter, they would shrug it off with, Commissioners maybe it will go away. Especially if we _ chance they had to actually, finally and can find some sacrificial goats to front completely, kill not only this asphalt — a phony legal challenge to kill it or at plant but all future asphalt plants in the - least give plausible deniability to keepvalley, the Commissioners unanimousing the “status quo while we figure ly voted against the measure. In case this thing out.” Add in the fact it does— you forgot, the measure was to contin-. -n’t seem you can do anything bad for “Real a Changes DAN STEPHENS the Attorney. Don’t like the law. Ignore it, at the Courier pointed out time and time again that the one and only as : Tine saw move... ; : If the asphalt. plant fiasco isn’t demoralizing enough, we have a legal_ly passed change of government initiative than is flat out being ignored by the Commissioners and the County enough in this county to get terminated, much less have your wings clipped. After all, Dan Matthews running the North Village SSD? Does history mean nothing to these Commissioners? (Or maybe it means 8th grade the Total Battery Average for — the state was 54, for Wasatch County it _ Battery Average for the state was 59, for Wasatch County it was 57. — What could be the reason for the continuing poor performance of our school © known. There is nothing wrong with the intellectual “raw material’ the school system is given. Could the problem be the system. And please, look outside of the school district and the county for that person. Bring in someone without any family, political or personal connections to the valley. I get the feeling that academic incest is a goodly part of the problem. Bring in someone who can make the necessary changes in the system without constant- than in the classrooms teaching their ly having to look over her or his shoulder. Maybe, with any luck, future graduates of Wasatch High can say, “I am a graduate of Wasatch High” with pride students. The rumor mills are ripe with rather than as an excuse. stories about politics and family having biti at as amazed / were Grind You Down | par ce “Good Old Boys”, just worn everyone out? Does continued opposition seem turnout, or rather, lack of futile? “What’s the use, they'll just lie to us and do whatever they want later.” turnout, at the recent public hearing Well, we can’t blame you. The asphalt on the asphalt plant. From a crowd | plant and the patently phony opposi~tion to it was a thinly veiled attempt to e J LLU) wl UL i i : on’t Let Them pathy, |
