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Show Saturday, January 24, 1998 The Park Record A-5 County Beat J COUNTY CniTftl COUNTY EDITOR Kirsta H. Bleyle 649-90 1 4 ext 1 1 2 Park City School superintendent critiques Leavitt's spending plan DeFord warns against taking money from existing programs to fund charter schools by Kirsta H. Bleyle OF THE RECORD STAFF When Utah Governor Michael Leavitt opened the 52nd Utah State Legislative session with a promise to dedicate more state resources for educational funding, school district superintendents and school board members across the state took notice. According to Nancy DeFord, superintendent for the Park City School District, Leavitt's proposed spending program raised a number num-ber of questions for Utah's public school superintendents. DeFord told The Park Record that there are a number of topics concerning Utah's educators that will be closely followed throughout through-out the current legislative session. Through the actions of two state-wide organizations, the Utah School Boards and Utah School Superintendents associations (USBA and USSA, respectively), legislation proposed during the next two months by the state legislature legis-lature will be carefully monitored to "be sure it has some safeguards for the public education system," DeFord said. She further noted that the two associations have issued a combined position statement state-ment outlining possible concerns regarding state funding priorities for Utah's schools. Because Utah already spends less per pupil than any other state in the country, it is important to make sure the state's public education educa-tion system does not loose any additional funding, DeFord noted, especially since funding affects class sizes. DeFord said she supports proposed pro-posed legislation supported by Leavitt that would provide funding fund-ing to reduce seventh- and eight-grade eight-grade class sizes. "We have some of the largest class sizes in the nation," she said, adding that "it's a good area to target, and it matches the No. 1 priority of the superintendents and the school boards." Other priorities the USBA and USSA have outlined in their position posi-tion statement include funding for transportation, textbooks and supplies, sup-plies, education technology, and at-risk programs. Additionally, the position statement notes, it is important to provide funding which would enable school dis tricts to provide an increase in salaries, beyond inflation, "to attract and retain quality public educators." The two associations have also stated their position on the governor's gover-nor's proposed "charter schools" program, which would create eight public schools offering specialty programs in areas like science and theatre arts, in addition to the ' state-mandated core curriculum. According to the USBAUSSA statement, charter schools would be a welcome endeavor, provided they do not drain valuable resources from existing public schools and their accompanying programs. The USBAUSSA further noted that charter schools should not be allowed to charge tuition or cause a negative impact on public schools, and should fall within the purview of local school boards. To keep abreast of proposed legislature as it affects Utah's schools, the USBA and USSA meet every Friday for a weekly briefing, DeFord said. As a member mem-ber of the USBAUSSA Legislative Committee, Park City School Board member Carol Murphy also keeps the district well informed on all of the latest legislative news, she added. Year-end building figures show little growth for 1 997 permit valuations YEARLY COMPARISONS BY MONTH OF BUILDING PERMIT VALUATIONS VALUE VALUE VALUE VALUE VALUE 1993 1994 1995 1996 - 1997 JANUARY $ 709,825 $ 2,858,778 $ 1,084,627 $ 3,065,136 $ 1 .427189 FEBRUARY $ 985,250 $ 3,032,042 .' $ 1,162,531 $ 2,056,886 $ 2,965,106 MARCH $ 1,859,106 $ 4,043,642 $ 4,531,502 $ 1,889,341 $ 2,443,758 APRIL $ 5,582,715 $ 6,229,940 $ 7,035,491 $ 7,164,777 $ 5,675,677 MAY $ 5,669,771 $ 8,550,385 $ 6,282,315 $11,056,728 $ 6,186,881 JUNE $ 6,564,508 $ 6,272,583 $ 8,983,925 $ 19,517,242 $ 7,879,558 JULY $ 8,060,301 : $ 4.176,615 ; $ 8,688,459 $16,082,696 $ 1 5,666.89 AUGUST'"' $ 7,290,979 ' ;' $ 4,897,775 . j $11,306,548 VH$jt3,48 Vvfr ,13,142,402 SEPTEMBER $ 6,776,465 $10,091,936 $ 8,173,391 $11,336,854 $ 8,029,854 OCTOBER $ 5,058,389 $ 5,890,799 $ 8,673,999 $ 5,459,846 $ 16,582,916 NOVEMBER $ 4,914.236 $ 4.106,142 $ 4.036.794 $ 4,174.059 $ 4,434,777 DECEMBER $ 6,127.598 $ 1,248,213 $ 2,922,060" $ 2,162,480 " $ 5,329,716 TOTAL $59,599,143 j $61,398,850 j $72,881,642 j $91,579,538 j $ 94,764,633 Summit County's total building valuations by the last month of 1997 showed little growth over 1996. For the past 12 months, total valuations hit $94,764,633, approximately approxi-mately $3 million more than the $91,579,538 figure for 1996. Comparatively, the year-end total valuation figure for 1996 was $18,679,896 higher the 1995 total of $72,881,642. Part of the 1996 total has been attributed by the county building department to the portion of the multi-unit Canyon Creek Apartments project that was completed com-pleted during 1996. The total number of building permits issued for 1997, however, reached 813, a figure that is 111 permits higher than the 1996 total of 702 building permits issued. During the month of December, a total of 39 building permits were issued for Summit County. In the Snyderville Basin, 37 permits were issued, with a total of 590 permits issued for the entire year. While 125 permits were issued in the South Summit area during 1997, no permits were issued during the month of December. And only two building permits were issued for the North Summit area during the month of December, compared to 98 permits issued during 1997. The total number of dwelling unit permits issued for 1997 hit 601, which was 24 permits short of the 1996 total of 625 permits. For the month of December, however, 39 dwelling unit permits were issued in 1997, compared to 5 permits issued in December of 1996. was Mtui 2245 Monitor Drive, Park City, Utah , Circa 1890 87 - j j ' 'Jt y 2fone of a kind! Park City's largest historical residence totally renovated and ready for the next 100 years. Nearly 8,500 square feet under roof including the main home plus separate in-law residence with a total of 7 bedrooms, 7 full baths, 2 powder rooms, 7 fireplaces plus over 3,000 square feet of covered porches and decks. All on 2.1 acres of ideal in-town horse property with HOA approved barn plans. Call for a color brochure. 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