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Show Teacher offers 'facts' about Utah schools have big families, and that educating these large numbers of children is expensive. 5. Statistics showing class size are misleading, since these figures are obtained by taking the number of students in each school and dividing by the number of teachers, ignoring the fact that every school has resource classrooms (special education) with only 5-6 students per class. This is bad news for Utah students, many of whom are in classes with 350 kids, and for Utah teachers who can't give students the individual attention they need. It's hard to believe that in a place like Utah, where children and education edu-cation are said to be highly valued, that parents are satisfied to have schools which rank last place in spending. Teachers of Utah should be commended for taking a stand. Teachers are not asking for a tax increase (don't forget that teachers pay taxes too). What they are asking ask-ing for is a major financial contribution contribu-tion to education while we have a big tax surplus, and a major commitment com-mitment to improving Utah's standing stan-ding in per pupil expenditures, class size, and teacher salaries over the next five years. This is the least that the children of Utah deserve, and the least that parents should accept. Now is the time to send a serious message to the Utah State Legislature that Utah doesn't want last place schools. KaJyn Denny Teacher West Bountiful Elementary Dear Editor Many people in Utah are aware that teachers are asking for more money for education, but few people peo-ple realize why teachers are so dissatisfied. Here are some facts which may be informative: 1. Currently Utah spends less money on education per pupil than any state in the United States. That's right, Utah is in last place in spending for schools. This fact has created large class sizes and shortages shor-tages of books and supplies. 2. Large classes mean that Utah teachers work harder than any in the nation, and good ACT scores mean that they are among the most productive, pro-ductive, but Utah teachers rank 41st in salary, which means that the average teacher in Utah earns $4,900 less than the average teacher in the United States. Since everyone knows that teachers don 't make great salaries no matter where they work, this isn't good news. 3. Because Utah schools have been under-funded for years, most teachers spend from $500 to $1 ,000 per year (or more) to buy supplies which are not provided by the school district. Good teachers buy these things for the benefit of their students, a fact that many parents don't realize or appreciate. 4. Statistics which show how much of the state's yearly budget goes to education are misleading because big expenditures in Utah are the direct result of large families and not in any way the result of waste or inefficiency in the school system. It isn't the fault of Utah teachers that people here choose to |