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Show ygwwiwifjwijj jjjjjiij.jij -. ;;;Baclo to f asn HSR'IflKHHBM -si'"'" ,,; i ; ' . . It" fV ' , j : 5if: : ! V J" - 1" 'U' ': ft- jt - . -: 1 t i . 11 . . ' ..!'. ' W.-.v. ' i .". !; t i- . . .: V : Three percent-cost of living increase is not acceptable our legislators to increase support for education.!!Supplementary information in-formation provided by the DEA claims that for FY 1989 the Net Surplus Remaining in the state budget is $81,442,000. The projected pro-jected surplus for FY 1990 is $80,900,000. Of these figures, $50323,000 from FY 1989 and $52,000,000 from the projected FY 1990 surplus comes from the Uniform School Fund. These are the sources of income designated for public education. 1 w The problems with the negotiated supplement are two-fold. First, the 3 percent cost of living increase, the first in three years, isn't acceptable. Second, Jhe class sizes are too large and seem to be growing larger. Mrs. FARMINGTON-Members of the Davis Education Association voted by a 2 to 1 margin to reject the tentative ten-tative contract settlement negotiated by the Davis School District and the DEA. -Eight -hundred -fifty-seven-. members voted "no" and 426 - voted "yes" This represents 1283 votes from the DEA membership of 1772. About 77 percent of the district's teachers belong to the DEA. ' . , . ; : According to a media statement issued Monday by DEA president, Kathie Bone, "it is obvious that ) there is a sense of frustration with the loss of funding for education over the past several years. r Teachers have been willing to -dof their best under s tight economic conditions-enduring cuts to balance - " the budget, while being told that - when the economic picture im- proves, so will the funding. They . . now see a sizeable ta?t surplus - 'which presents an opportunity for Bone commented, "Our salaries are now lower than the seven bordering states. Not "only are the monetary rewards for educators dwindling but so are the intrinsic rewards. With large classes, diminishing resources and apparent lack of public support, it is difficult for teachers to feel good about what they are able to . accomplish in their classrooms. We are caught in a downward spiral which ; impacts every student in every classroom." ' "The DEA representatives seemed comfortable with the Davis District's attempts to secure the best possible salary inorease for teachers. The problem, as interpreted inter-preted by the DEA, is with the Utah State Legislature, "With 90 percent of our funding coming from the state, there is very little leeway; in local negotiations. We recognize the financial difficulties which the ; legislature has placed on the Davis School District," Mrs. Bone stated. She also commented that even , pilot programs and research studies to find better ways to instruct large numbers: of children cannot . be ' started unless more money at the state level is put into education. . ' Jim Campbell, president of the UEA (Utah Education Association), was also in attendance at the press "conference. He said, "The UEA is supporting the DEA in their action. .We plan to meet with legislators individually in-dividually and with the governor. It is a slap in the face to say there is a surplus and ignore the needs of ed-? ucation. , , , v Mrs. Bone indicated that the ' DEA strategy for the immediate: ' future would be to work with state : legislators. "We hope there are many legislators in the state that .t will pick op the cause and gladly support " education," Mrs. s Bone sail ! - t There is no talk now of a teacher ' strike or the possibility of a DEA -'Sit down- when the legislature meets alAough Mrs. Bone did not rule these strategies but entirely. Mr. Campbell said, "The fact that teachers have agreed to teach . r without contract is a good faith. ' efTrt showing teachers care more Yr ce:rr.vb cn tacs 2 Teachers reject contract CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 about kids than money . The population popula-tion of Utah must put their priority where the biggest resource iswith our kids. Three percent is token appreciation." ap-preciation." While it is difficult to determine the salary of an average teacher in - Davis County because of a complex formula that is used to determine salaries, roughly the average teacher in the county earns $24,000 per year. This represents a teacher with a bachelor's degree and 12 years of experience. A 3 percent cost of living increase would be about $60 per month before taxes and increased insurance costs. Members of the DEA Executive Board gave some examples of the -"prSblems they feel are crucial to teachers. A librarian with a master's degree and 22 years of experiee earns $28,000 per year. Another educator with the same education and 12 years experience earns $3,000 a year less. The librarian commented, "When I started working work-ing in media 17 years ago, I was allotted $3 per student for books. Today, I am still allotted $3 per student." stu-dent." A junior high math teacher said his average class size was 34 students. He felt this would be true in most academic areas except for AP, concurrent enrollment and resource classes in the secondary schools. "Often -there are 40 students in a secondary class made up of the average students." This spills over into shop, home economics and type classes. You just can't work effectively with that many students, ' he concluded. |