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Show Schools vsies losing $5CM$,0IM1 in federal fundls If President Carter decides to cut Public Law 874 funds, the Uintah School District stands to lose $500,000. Public Law 874 compensates for taxes lost due to government owned lands, and is paid directly to school districts as taxes as if the lands were privately owned. At last week's school board meeting. Superintendent Wayne Reid showed ereat concern for the possible cutback in Public Law 874 funds. "This is the most frightful thing that could happen to the district." It could mean a cut in the number of teachers in the district. In a letter to the commissioner of a special review board of P.O. 874 funding, fun-ding, Reid states the position of the board. "Our district believes impact aid is in "lieu of taxes" as originally intended by Congress. The federal government needs to pay taxes just as business, industry, railroad companies, or airline companies do." If the funds are cut it would directly affect the number of teachers in the area, special programs for needy children and field trips, Reid said. "If the present 874 funding is dropped, drop-ped, we would need to reduce our teaching staff by 37 teachets or 19 percent of our staff," Reid said. Because of pressures to keep up with surrounding districts with a high tax base, the Uintah district has in the past placed all P.L. 874 money into maintenance main-tenance and operating budgets or salaries. Other items presented at the meeting were: Dr. John Childs, principal at Naples Elementary will be the principal prin-cipal at the Jr. High next fall, and Grant Droliinger, principal at the Jr. High will be the curriculum director. Dr. Colleen Colton, present curriculum director, will be the principal at Discovery Elementary. Errol Merkley representing the W7est Side, presented to the board recommendations recom-mendations from a meeting involving people from all nine communities on the West side about future facilities in the district. Merkley said the committee . recommended the school board bond for $16 million with the assumption that a new elementary and high school would be built on the West side. If the bonding fails, the people would like to see a positive input inlo the students' needs at Union High School, Merkley said. The committee also desired a closed campus for a new high school and they felt it should be separate from West Junior High. Superintendent Reid also presented to the board a pupil teacher projection for 1980-81. The report showed an average class size in the district of 27.7 students with Discovery Elementary having the highest average, 28.7. The report shows 904 students and 33 teachers at the High School. |