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Show 6 Thursday, March THE GREEN SHEET 31, 1988 Housing Students Is The Kev Challenae Facing Granite Officials by Ralph H. Goff Green Sheet Staff Writer -- GRANITE PARK With student enrollment in Granite School District expected to top 75,000 this fall - and with a significant portion of those students residing on the valleys west side of the states largest school district is anything but -- simple. The man who now heads the district is amply .qualified to address west side concerns, however. Superintendent Loren Burton, who stepped into the shoes of the retiring Superintendent John Reed Call last January, formerly served the district as assistant superintendent for the west area and is intimately familiar with the problems and potentials of Granites west-sid- e schools. While exuberant about "the exciting things going on in this district," Burton is also realistic about the pressures of student housing and the equally strong pressures coming from the state legislature to keep school budgets in line. One of the problems he currently faces, he explained, is the loss of a number of teachers and administrators who chose to take an early retirement as a result of the states retirement incentive program. "It will take a while to bounce back from the losses we experienced from the retirement window," he said. "We lost some great people, and you cant cut that much and not feel it. Im not saying that the people who have come on board are not high level or high energy people, but it takes time to recapture the depth of experience weve lost." On the plus side, however, Burton is pleased with some of the innovative programs currently being developed in the districts pilot program. "The computer programs at Hillside and Orchard (elementary have tremendous schools) possibilities," he said, "and we have had nothing but positive feedback from students, patrons and staff the concerning program." year-roun- d year-roun- d he education, explained, "has not been going long enough to show gains in the test scores, but I predict that will Year-roun- d happen in the future. We have five elementary schools currently on and another five schedules beginning in July all of them on the west side. In addition, studies are under way to put three more the on schools following year, and there will probably be others as well," he year-roun- d - year-roun- d said. Need For Year-roun- need to keep taxes as low as possible; - provides a means for better utilization of the school calendar d Year-roun- d is a education growing trend not only in Granite District, but in many other school districts throughout the country. The Granite Board of Education decided to place the five schools currently elementary this following calendar on the year-roun- d schedule for several reasons: Year-roun- d meets scheduling: a growing demand from taxpayers and educators for more efficient school of use materials, equipment and facilities; is a sound strategy to balance rapidly growing enrollment in some areas of the district with the al - - as an educational strategy through continuous education without the traditional three months interruption of learning time; - provides an opportunity to redirect funds have that been used to traditionally construct and maintain new buildings toward the improvement of educational programs; and - gives an opportunity for the best possible school experience for the children. Studies have shown that learning under the schedule actually increases since their long summer vacation is divided into shorter blocks of time during the year. schools using schedules like the modified pilot plan adopted in Granite increase building capacity by more than 30 percent. This more efficient use of buildings saves millions of dollars in facility construction costs. -- bulge reaches the junior high level, its going to kill us," he said. "The only way it wont happen is if there is some sort of gross due to some gross economic failures, but I dont see that happening," he added. Diversification of the valleys economy has created a more stable economic base so that the closing of a single large company (such as Kennecott or Hercules) would not impact the economy as a whole in the same manner as it would have done in the past, he explained. District administrators anticipate next years enrollment to be about 75,000 students. The district has averaged about 2,000 new students per year, with some peak years nearly doubling that number of new students entering the school system. According to the Economic Report to the Governor, issued earlier this year, the dramatic slowdown in Utahs population growth in recent years has been caused by a combination of both (as a result of economic conditions) as well as a decline in natural increase. There were 35,469 births and 8.813 deaths from July 1, 1986 to New School Construction June 30, 1987, the report noted, There is at present only one resulting in a net natural increase new building being constructed of 26,656. This compares to the within the district the new peak year of 1980 when natural increase was 33,484. Hunter high school. Utahs population grew by an Construction on the districts ninth high school is progressing estimated 13,000 for the period which would rapidly on a parcel on the between of more southwest corner of 5600 W. 4100 imply a net South, Burton said. The facility is than 13,500 persons from Utah. expected to be open for business This would mean that about .8 in the 1990-9school year. percent of the 1986 population The facility is expected to house left the state in the past year. is created between 2,200 and 2,400 students and will cost the district about primarily by imbalanced in the $20 million and thats just for labor market such as rapidly new entrants into the the building. Sowing with small growth in Textbooks, sports equipment, library supplies, computers, shop the creation of new jobs," the materials and all of the other report said. Utah had an extended period of educational tools necessary to run each year from 1969 the new school will also need to be addressed before the school opens. through 1983. The current But the new high school may pattern is in its not be enough to handle the fourth consecutive year. The 1? time this occurred was betw growth, he pointed out. school enrollment, High however, is not the most pressing problem which the district is facing on the secondary level. "The bulge in the student popution is just beginning to enter junior high," Burton pointed out. "If budget constraints say we cannot build, we may be looking in the junior high at as well within three to five years depend on utan scnoois Other Possible Factors During the 1980s, Utahs property taxes to operate, and Population growth alone may only about 20 percent of the land population grew largely because of natural increase. July 1, 1980 not be the only determining factor in Utah is currently in private to July 1, 1987 births were in what the district must do to ownership. The rest of the land is .272,607 and deaths were 60,274. provide quality education for either owned or controlled by the This is a net natural increase of students in the public school countv or local federal, state, 212,333. With an overall increase system. The tax burden shouldered by governments, effectively removing of about 204,000 persons since that land as a source of income to 1980, this implies that Utah has Utahns generally and other underwrite the state school had over 8,000 net trends in education may have system. in the last seven years. some impact in the future. -- year-roun- d Year-roun- d four-trac- k 45-1- 5 - 40-acr- 1986-198- e UNDER CONSTRUCTION ... The new d education still looms high schools, but as a coming necessity on the unior high level Already elementary schools are involved. year-roun- Hunter high school Is under construction. It will help relieve loads at Kearns, Cyprus and Granger CLIP 7, 1 & SAVE The Most Progressive Video Store In West Valley 1 967-010- 1 4219 W. 3500 S., West Valley City "Out-migrati- - . 1963-196- 5. i i 2 MOVIES 2 DAYS -G- CHILDRENS GOOD MON WtD COUPON PLUS ANY TWO ! $2 QQ ET MOVIES A M .00 FREE MEMBERSHIP WITH THIS OFFER i EXP 43188 EXP 43188 'PoooooodoootK CLIP & SAVE year-roun- d -- - maybe sooner." Year-roun- d schooling will primarily be instituted in the western portions of the district, Burton explained. While growth continues to boom in the western portions, growth in some of the older, more settled areas in the east has begun to level off. 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