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Show Saturday, April 26, 1997 The Park Record A-7 Kindergarten registration If you have a child who will be five on or before September 1, 1997 and will be attending one of the three elementary schools in the Park City School District, there will be a parent meeting Friday, May 9. Jeremy Ranch includes Summit Park, Pinebrook, Silver Creek, Timberline, Jeremy Ranch, Spring Creek, Crystal View Apartments, and Powderwood. The meeting will be held at 1:30 p.m. McPolin, which includes Prospector, Park Meadows, McCleod Creek, Aspen Springs, Thaynes, Old Town, Deer Valley, Ridgeview, and The Aerie. Their meeting will also begin at 1 :30 p.m. Parley's Park Elementary, which includes Silver Springs, North Shore, Ranch Place, Silver Summit, Highland Estates, Mahogany Hills, Sun Peak, Snynder's Mill, Park Ridge, and Old Ranch Road, will begin their meeting at 1 p.m. Get ready for testing Attention all parents of students stu-dents grade 1-11 . The Park City School District would like to announce that April 28-May 2 are the testing dates of the Utah Core Assessment tests in our district. To help this week be a success, suc-cess, please help your child be ready and prepared. Research shows that students test best when they get plenty of rest, eat a well-balanced breakfast, come to school everyday, and are encouraged to do their best. Budget crunch puts bite on high school by Madison Furrh OF THE RECORD STAFF As the Park City Board of Education held its monthly work session on Tuesday, April 22 board members began to grapple with the beginnings of the budget process. The realities of the growing grow-ing financial demands in the district dis-trict and shrinking funds due to tax cuts caused the board to redirect redi-rect Hal Smith, the principal of the high school, to look for alternatives alter-natives to hiring new teachers. The high school currently employs 45.2 teachers (45 full-time full-time and some additional part-time part-time hours) and because of growth and more planning time for teachers at the high school (teachers at the high school were allowed an additional planning period by the board in January) Smith asked the board to increase the number of teachers to 51.6. However Burke Jolley, the business busi-ness administrator and assistant superintendent for the district, felt that the district should only employee 45.5 teachers. Without new teachers, accord ing to Smith, there will be higher class numbers, the elimination of some classes, less supervision of activities as in-school suspension, andor a complete rescheduling. "We'll have to dig a new trench. We'll have to go back to our department chairs and see where we can go from here. It puts us in a difficult position this late in the year but it's something we'll have to deal with." School district superintendent Nancy DeFord echoed some of Smith's concerns. "If they don't get additional staffing the impact The Kids are all Jazzed up.. SCOTT SINEPARK RECORD Greg Ostertag, the center for the Utah Jazz, visited McPolin Elementary on Wednesday, April 16 in order to kick off a reading program called "Assist Your Mind, Score with Books." The program is supported by the wives of the Jazz players and all first-graders participated. Ostertag read to the students while at the school. Congratulations to the Odyssey of the Mind Team!!! From The Park Record. will be larger class sizes or cutting certain classes. Are we willing to have some classes of 30 so we can have some classes of 12 and allow that class to grow?" Smith expressed some concern con-cern about how such measures would effect the high school's quality of education. He said, "The long term will be to see how it effects the quality of education." educa-tion." He continued, "We just want to be the best and I want to be an advocate for the best and we'll continue to do that." At a January 7 meeting, according to DeFord, the board and high school representatives decided to go from a seven- to an eight-class block schedule so there could be a wider range of classes for students to choose from. But without more teachers it will be difficult to offer those classes. DeFord said, "That's what I don't know. My sense is there will be some additional classes but not all they wanted to offer." She added, "But I don't know until I go over the numbers after the high school has examined exam-ined them." According to Murphy, when the board passed the two planning plan-ning periods for the high school it was made clear that there would be other compromises down the road. And apparently that is where district officials and school administrators are now. She said, "If that was the priority two planning periods there would have to be give and take in other areas." According to Jolley, it was stated at the Jan. 7 meeting that, "they wouldn't receive any additional addi-tional staff because of the block schedule." Smith asked for 6.4 additional teachers but he will not get them. Although board member Carol Murphy said that a compromise might be reached, DeFord was not as optimistic. "The allocation based on the formula we used was a very small increase." She continued, "What I asked the high school to do is go and look at the schedule class by class to see where they could make adjustments. Murphy said. "I don't think the board could afford to hire five new teachers and I don't know what any compromise might look like." She continued. "We have a finalized budget by the last weekend week-end of May so everything now is numbers. This year is particularly difficult because we have to provide pro-vide staffing for the new middle school." Colleen Bailey, the president of the school board said to Smith. "We knew this was going to happen." hap-pen." Board member Nikki Lowry. although aware of the financial restraints, expressed concern that once the abstract budget debates became a reality a number of quality classes could be lost. She said, "We still should look at a compromise because does this mean we won't have French 4 or AP-Calculus?" Bailey addressing Smith said. "I hope. Hal, you don't take this personally. It is not a good financial finan-cial year and the hit is going to effect us all. There's always next year. We could raise taxes but you know what, we already are." Murphy then asked. "How sacred are the two prep periods and what are you willing to sacrifice sacri-fice to get that?" Board member Roger Fulmer. who was obviously angered by the policy that granted teachers at the high school two preparation prepara-tion periods, vented. "High school teachers will be teaching 150 hours less than middle school or elementary teachers. I take offense to that and it's abhorrent. I think it's disgusting that we say elementary teachers don't count." In the next few weeks district officials and school administrators administra-tors will have to look for alternatives alterna-tives because of the budget restraints associated with growth and the opening of Ecker Hill Middle School while still maintaining main-taining manageable class sizes. DeFord said, "It's always a balancing bal-ancing act. Park City schools have traditionally done a good job of controlling class size." She added, "We'll do the best that we can." v V V the Jeremy golf a n d country club The Jeremy is a private, equity-held membership Country Club, a limited number of members are being sought. The Jeremy Golf and Country Club invites you to join Park City's most prestigious private Country Club! Enjoy the Arnold Palmer designed eighteen hole championship golf course ocated in a scenic mountain setting. Using beautiful East Canyon Creek as both a companion and, occasionally an adversary, the sprawling, gently rolling course has a slight Irish accent. Not only is the membership investment affordable, the dues are very reasonable for a course of this stature. Prestigious Arnold Palmer design Rated in the top 2 courses in Utah by Golf Digest Fastest growing membership in the State Equity held memberships Approximately $1,000,000 of capital improvements since 1993 Exceptionally valued memberships currently selling for $27,500 Monthly dues of $165 Improved practice facility Men's and women's locker rooms Beautiful dining and banquet facilities Learn more about this once-in-a-lifetime offer to become a member of The Jeremy Golf and Country Club. For more information call (801)649-2700 or (801)531-9000 |