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Show i Schools not sacred !iiV j Part 2: reevaluation still needed cross. With that out of the way, I still insist that not all is well with our schools. I do believe that our children are getting a good education, and I believe that generally those on the School Board and in the various positions care By Bruce I Part Two. Two weeks ago in this space I made s some remarks concerning the : administration of the Iron County ; School District; and, although I hate to keep hitting the same issue, certain : happenings over the past 14 days, have :. prompted me to do it again. I'll keep it short. ; First, at least one person has pointed out what Were probably some misleading comments in my original column. These, I think, need to be clarified, although they make no : difference to the major ideas I made. In the column I said that teachers had : been laid off. No teachers were actually laid off; yet, some positions were cut out through attrition. Also, money used to remodel the district offices did not : come from the same budget and source J as money used to pay teachers. Thus, : teachers' salary funds were not cut to ; remodel the district. The funds cannot students and their parents. And this has all happened in a district where growth has really not been much more than average and expected. Problems like this are expected when growth is booming, or there are dramatic increases or decreases, but such has not been the case in Iron County. We have not seen the sudden doubling or tripling of population as some boom towns have. I have had some school officials suggest that this is all true, but that these are mistakes of the past and we must ! live with them now and do our best. I would counter that the past is not very far past. Take again for instance the remodeling of the school district offices, a $100,000 project, and all the time the Board knew that building needs in the district would be pressing them into a corner before the year was out. Take for instance the Fiddlers Canyon Elementary School, a extremely expensive building that, when completed, probably won't have a dozen school-age children living within walking distance. I am a firm believer in education. I have partaken in it (contrary to what some may believe) for many years of my life. But I am not a believer in education at any cost, because I think it can be obtained for a reasonable cost. It is time that the School Board realize it is not a "sacred cow." We can complain, and we will. Taxpayers will only take so much. about the quality of education. But, this district is bonded to its limit and has been for a number of years. The School Board is now saying that more room is needed, and it is proposing a number of alternatives, none of which are at all pleasant to those who must live with them the |