Salt Lake Tribune | 2000-05-07 | Page 34

The Salt Lake Tribune UTAH/ARTS Director Center Of Turmoil In At-Risk Ed Former employees contacted by The Salt Lake Tribune did not want to talk on the record because most have taker jobs irrtocat schoo!dis— tricts and must work with thestate office and, in some cases, directly with the at-risk division. @ Continued from B-1 Chenault names Taylor, the state office and her immediate supervisor Brenda Broadbent as defendants. “I am treated very differently than the others in my office with the same position,” Chenault wrote in her complaint. “I have been singled out and purely be- cause I am who I am [a black woman].” Taylor and the state also deny those allegations. Taylor may have critics, but is lauded by others as anefficient leader. Duringits April meeting, the State Board of Education praised her after Utah sailed through a federal government compliance review withouta single criticism, a rarity for states. This past week she waselected chairwomanofthe board of directors of the regional Special Educa- As for the employee turnover, Taylor, with copies to Laing said the State Office of Education has always been a “revolv- Kennedy and Assistant Superintendent Jerry Peterson, Taylor’s that before leaving their positions ing dooragency.” Employees come immediate supervisor. in exit interviews with education officials as well as in letters to State Superintendent Steve Laing and State Board of Education Chairwoman Jill Kennedy. They claim nothing has been done to rectify their perceived problems with Taylor. Laing said hisoffice takes exit interviews seriously and follows up appropriately. “But sometimes what is proper and appropriateis not whatthe individual leaving wanted to have done,”he said. Laing said Taylor is a capable and reliable leader. He lamented the fact that former employees can in from districts and go back, largely because of the low salaries. “A state agency is better off if employees spenda portion of their careers here, not their entire careers,” he said. Two parent advocacy groups, however, are not convinced the loss of veteran employees is good for Utah children who areatrisk of failing school withoutstrong state programs. The Utah Special Education Advisory Panel, comprised mostly of parents with students with disabilities, noticed the departures and convened a task force to look into the situation. “We were aware of the concerns Two Russian Masterworks Laing, However, most employees said they voiced concerns about Taylor benefits” because sheis an African American woman. Sunday, May 7, 2000 freely talk office politics while dnd as a teakcibane took the concn Taylor and the state office are untunity to express them in a written able to defend themselves| publicly letter,” said Diane Dykman, panel beeause—of Jaws chairwoman.__ and pending lawsuits. The letter was sentdirectly to The Utah ParentCenter, an organization that serves parents of children with special education needs, issued a similar letter expressing concerns abouttheloss of expertise in the office which they said could lead to the demise of programs benefiting at-risk children. Neither group received a response from thestate office. “Maeis a strong, bright lady andI have notfoundher to be unfair,” said Helen Post, the center’s executive director. “But the people who were there were hardworking peopleof integrity, and I don’t see them as people who would makethese things up.” SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE Two famous Russian masterworks graced the Abravanel Hall stage Friday. Under the venerable baton of Pavel Kogan, the Utah Symphony was resilient in its reading of Dimitri Shostakovich’s “Fifth Symphony” and the 'y seem tobe a close relationship between the calculative Han and the ardent conductor. A number of things went very well for Han’s performance — enough to merit a standing ovation for this familiar tune.It flameConcertNo Y REVIEW tion,butnotonetoting Pianist Derek Han made —_ ina listener's memory. However, memorable was the a return engagementwith the orchestra using the Rachmaninoffas operative wordfor what Kogan and band did with the Shostakovich. his vehicle. From Friday'sinstallmentof the concert pairing, there This music became a showcase for Kogan. was little doubt that Han possesses From thestridentstring exposithe technique to breeze through we to the Herculean finale, this this familiar concerto. However, as maestroship. amid his acumen,there was an absence of raw passion: — a quality rns would haveto have been made of stone not to have been left to the orchestra and Kogan. By no means were Han’s fingers moved bythis reading. Adjunct Faculty Wanted! tion Service Center, a group of special education leaders from 10 western states. Taylor has worked atthe State Office of Education for 34 years, previously serving as the coordi- nator for special education and later as the federal compliance officer. Butproblemswith her newrole surfaced last summer when her staff began to defect. All three coordinators who worked directly under Taylor left, as did program Anticipated Openings for Adjunct (Part-Time) Tikidallace) e BOWSALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE specialists, secretaries and support staff. In all, the vacancies rep- resented almost one-third of the division Taylor, while refusing to delve into specific personnel issues, said there are numerous reasons why employeesleft, such as better payingjobs, the opportunity to workin more convenientlocations and retirements. She said only two people who left were unhappy and Salt Lake CommunityCollege is seeking qualified adjunct(part-time) faculty to teach fall semester, August 23-December20, 2000. Additional positionswill be available for spring semester 2001. Opportunities to teach coursesvia distance education also maybe available. Bachelor’s and master’s degree or appropriate related credentials and experience are required as outlined below. Please contact Human Resourcesat [phone] orfax anintroductionletter and resume to the appropriatedivision chair/director to expressinterest or receive additional information. POSITIONS AVAILABLE “these are people whohad an ax to grind because of changes I made.” Taylor said sheis a stickler for accountability and takes seriously herjob as a public servant. She admits to working 12-hourdays, but Anatomy ¢ Astronomy ¢ Chemistry Geolo: © Meteorology ° Physics says she only asks that her employeesput in the 40 hours a week for which they are paid. “But when you try to do that Master’s degreein teachingfield or in a closelyrelatedfield required; teaching experience preferred. with someone whohasnothad to answer to anybody, they tend to resentit,” she said. However, former employees use Geography Contact Davis Ballard, Division Chair, Natural Sciences and Communication, [phone]. words like “intimidating” and analysis and design, visual basic, DOS/Windows, database concepts (Access), C, C++. Greatest needis for teachers available to teach classes during the day. Contact Larry Kruger, Division Chair, Industry and Information, [phone]or fax a letter of introduction and a resume to [phone]. “vindictive” to describe Taylor's managementstyle. ComputerScience * Mathematics Accounting Clerk ¢ CustomerService Technician Medical Records Technician ¢ Office Technician Parties Master’s degree in teachingfield or closely related field required; teaching experience preferred. BSin relatedfield and three years experience required. Celebrate Cinco de Mayo Contact Don Merrill, Division Chair, Computational Sciences and Education, [phone]. @ Continued from B-1 Anthropology ¢ English Composition ¢ Humanities Confederates in the American Civil War. Not that anybody cared much Master’s degree in teachingfield required. Philosoph about history Saturday. Most in the diverse gathering were there for nothing morethan a good time. Even the visiting politicians Democratic Salt Lake County Mayor candidate Karen Crompton Contact Helen Cox, Division Chair, Humanities, City, kept their speechesshort. grew to love [Cinco de Mayo] while serving a mission in Arizona. Master’s degreein teaching field and near-native competency required. “T love the food and music,”said West Jordan's Joelle Bardin. “I We're having a good time.” But mostly, Cinco de Mayo is about bringing peopletogether. In Midvale, the ‘celebration has becomea majordate onthecity’s social calender. “It's a very, very tight community, and I'm very happyto be part ofit,” said Paco Rendon,the director of operations for the La Salsa restaurant chain. “I like the mix of people here. Therearea lot of Lat- inos, but also a lot of Americans and membersofotherraces.It’s a very family-oriented celebration.” Midvale’s Cinco de Mayo party concluded Saturday night. The celebration at Centro Civico Mexicano,155 S. 600 West, continuestoIn addi‘ity event also features a rodeo and horse show. Alexis and Chandler Brinkerhoff are pleased to announce the engagementof their mom MARLENE BRINKERHOFF of Lyman, UT TO DIRK E. FRAUSSEN of Limburg, Belgium Open Houses will be held in SLCand in Lyman, UT. To be announced. Certified Nursing Assistant Clinical and theory instructors needed. Current RN license required. Contact Kaye White, Skills Center Director of Instruction, [phone]. [phone]. French ¢ German ¢ Japanese ¢ Russian ° Spanish AmericanSi; Langua; Interpreting for the Deaf and Sen. Pete Suazo, D-Salt Lake Contact Kaye White, Skills Center Director of Instruction, [phone]. Electronics Assembly ¢ Electronics Technician AASor AS degreein an electronicsfield and three years experience required. Contact Kaye White, Skills Center Director of Instruction, [phone]. Contact Helen Cox, Division Chair, Humanities, [phone]. Music * Music Theory Dance ¢ History * Utah History ° Theatre ¢ Film * Sociology Psychology ¢ Theatre Tech Master’s degree in teachingfield required. For Theatre Tech, experiencein technical theatre and experiencein set construction andelectrical andlighting design required. Contact Barbara Pomeranz,Division Chair, Fine Arts and Social Sciences, [phone]. Computer InformationSystems Bachelor’s degree in computerinformation systems, computer science or business relatedfield with atleast three years related industry experience required; master’s degree preferred. Knowledge andability to teach classesin any ofthe following areas required: computeressentials, logic and problem solving techniques, structured analysis & design, object oriented LAN Technician CNI and MCSEcertification and three years experience required. Contact Kaye White, Skills Center Director of Instruction, [phone]. Microcomputer Service and Support Technician AASor AS degree in computer-relatedfield, A+ certification, andthree years experience required. Contact Kaye White, Skills Center Director of Instruction, [phone]. APPLICATION PROCESS: