Salt Lake Tribune | 2003-10-09 | Page 29

The Salt Lake Tribune UTAH BS Thursday, October 9, 2003 Utah system of Initiative process has day in court charter schools at a crossroads involvement, and the competition they provide compels traditional public schools to improve. Opponents say Utah’s low per-pupil spending — the lowest in the country — makes it difficult to justify spreading state education funding even thinner. Every time a student leaves a traditional school to attend a charter school, the money follows the student. By Ronniz Lynn The Salt Lake Tribune Utah’s 5-year-old charter school system has survived funding inequities and opposition from the education establishment, but its future could be in the hands of state policymakers, according to a report released Wednesday. Despite legislative efforts to fund charter schools at the samelevelas traditional public schools, charters still are at a fiscal disadvantage when it comes to financing facil- Meanwhile,school leaders say, their expenses remain the same. That shouldn't matter, Stephensonsaid. “We're funding students, not the system,” he said. “I don’t care so much who controls th funding aa ities and qual- ° pate — not the system.” controls who the Foundation’s SEN. HOWARD STEPHENSON UNding” research Scheme re- R-Draper iene. ’ the ing isn’t nia: an rT pine = charter movement. “Utahns must decide if the benefits of charter schools outweigh the costs,” said Janice Houston, a senior research analyst at the Utah Foundation,a nonpartisan group that researches public policy issues. Charter schools are public schools funded by tax dollars that are empowered to use in- novative teaching methods. But they must adhere to most of the same financial and educational standards as other public schools... Nineteen charter schools have been approved since the Legislature autho- rized them in 1998. Houston outlined the report’s findings during a foun- School Board members denied a recent charter application because they didn’t want responsibility for a school over which they had no authority. Charter school proponents said they have run into similar roadblocks elsewhere. Scott Brownsaid his application for a_ technology-based charter school in Ogden SchoolDistrict was rejected before he could present his application to the school board. He suggested the hasty rejection had something to do with three board members’ membership in school unions. “We can’t get past first base,” he said. Stephenson acknowledged that recent legislation mandat- ing local school districts be the first to consider charter applications was a political negotiation made to gain support for increasing the numberof charter schools. The state Board of Education wants to minimize its role in authorizing charter schools, saying school districts have more staffing and expertise to dation luncheon that also included a panel discussion featuring Eric Smith, chief administrative officer of Timpanogos Academy; Alpine School District Superintendent Vernon Henshaw; Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper; and Rep. Brad King, D-Price. The discussion revisited offer technical assistance and otherwise oversee charters. Stephenson said the provision should be re-amended to in- many issues and arguments clude a “blow-by” provision surrounding charter schools since they were introduced into the public school system. Smith and other proponents say charters encourage creativity, parental choice and By KIRSTEN STEWART gather signatures from 10 percent of the reg- TheSalt Lake Tribusw istered voters in 20 of 29 counties because it gave more weightto rural voters’ signatures than those in urban areas. To fix the problem, the 2003 Legisiature changed the threshold to 10 percent of the voters in 26 of 29 Senate districts. And they ture last winter: How far can the state go to protect ballot initiatives from becoming a free-for-all without making the process too burdensomefor residents? On Wednesday, backers ofan initiative to ban guns from schools and churches argued legislators went too far. New citizen-lawmaking rules have “made it impossible for Utahns to place an initiative on the ballot with a grass-roots effort,” argued John Pearce, the attorney representing Safe Havens for Learning in its appeal before the state’s high court. But state attorneys contend the rules are added more rules: requiring petitioners to hold seven public hearings aroundthestate, placing a one-year deadline on signature gathering and imposing a two-year ban on the filing of similar initiatives. Safe Havens volunteers, who are struggling to gather enough signatures to get on the 2004 ballot, say the rule changes, which occurred midwayinto their signature hunt, are more onerous than before. “Whatthis comes downto is the Legislature is trying to prevent a view that’s contrary to the prevailing view of the Legislature from ever seeing the light of day,” said Dave Jones, former House minority leader reasonable. “The Legislature has the duty to keep the lawmaking process orderly,” argued Assistant Attorney General Thom Roberts. “We and Safe Havens member. “The Legislature doesn’t wantthe public sticking its nose into the public’s business.” During Wednesday’s proceedings, Chief don’t want the same issues coming up year after year.” The Utah Constitution reserves the right for residents to make law byinitiative if a Justice Christine Durham pressed attorneys me about, i Rectifying those disadvantages could result in less state funding for traditional public schools, requiring policymakers and the public to decide how committed they are to the grouptells the justices for specifics on what constitutes “reasonable” and “burdensome.” “There's something to be said for preserving decency,” Durham said, citing a swarm ofballot initiatives in California that were reworked or overturned later by the state’s Legislature. “How far can the Legislature go without unduly burdening the right, and how canwetell when they’ve gone too far?” Pearce recommended setting the signature-collecting bar at a maximum of15 of 29 Senatedistricts, the numerical majority required for the Senate to pass abill. The constitution “creates a_ situation where you have the fox guarding the hen house,” said Pearce. “The tension was built into the system, but because of that tension, it’s especially appropriate of this court to guard jealously the [initiative] right and look askance atlegislative regulations.” Roberts hesitated to recommend a gold standard for measuring the “reasonableness”of regulations, but said, “The required 10 percent are voters who voted in the last gubernatorial election, not all the voters. That’s a fairly small and manageable number.” The court took the arguments under advisement. [e-mail] _ ifying for fed- “We'refunding students, og get to regulate initiative campaigns. Abouta year ago, the state Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional a legislative requirement that ballot-petition supporters Utah SupremeCourt justices are pondering the same question faced by the Legisla- Researchers: A report says the system’s future may be up to lawmakers = majority of voters approve. But lawmakers Seeking a balance: Lawmakers went too far with rules, an anti-gun that would enable prospective charters to apply directly to the state board instead of having to wait for rejection by a local district. [e-mail] Workman backs down on land-swap proposal By THoMAsS Burr The Salt Lake Tribune Facing an angry crowdofres- idents, Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman on Wednesday dropped her proposal to slice away part of a Cottonwood Heights community park to trade with a developerfor land in Emigration Canyon. “I'm not going to do this,” Workman said after listening for more than an hour as resident after resident protested the plan. Workman had suggested the James Lee Sorenson, Cottonwood Heights residents wouldn’t haveit. “What does this community get out of this deal?” questioned Barbara Watkins, one of about 300 people who packed an ele- mentary school gymnasium for the public hearing. County Public Works Director David Stanley answered, “Probably about six homes.” The audience jeered. Canyon owned by MSI Inc., a “You're pushing open space out to the fringes and allowing development to fill in,” complained resident Craig Jolley. “How do our kids get from here to Emigration Canyon?” asked Robert Erhardt. “I just don’t see how we can benefit.| company managed by developer wantour kids to be able to walk county exchange 7.4 acres of the 60-acre Crestwood Park, on Si- esta Drive (7485 South) near 1700 East, for 200 acres in Emigration to the park.” At one point, Workman askea if anyonein the crowd supported the proposal. The audience laughed. Sorenson whowas in the audience said after Work man’s decision that he wasn't disappointed. “I’m just relieved,” he said. “I just wanted a decision one way or another.” Sut, he added, there was probably a groupof residents in Emigration Canyon upset about not getting more open space. So renson says hestill may pursue a plan to build 18 to 21 homesin his property in the canyon, about 28 acres of which can be develuped. Therest is too steep. Emigration Canyon Commu nity Council Chairman ve Smolka said earlier Wednesday that the canyon residents want to preservethat area and donot want more homes drawing more water a valuable resourcein the canyon. While this land swap may be dropped, Deputy Mayor Alan Dayton said after Wednesday's meeting that the county could use its open space fund witha $2.7 million balance to buy the Emigration property. “This one probably deserves serious consideration,” he said. [e-mail] Goshutes get medical grant The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded the the Confederate Tribe ofthe Goshute Indians at the Ibapah Reserva- atadistant site through two-way audio-visual communication. Carey Hamilton CALL 1-801-624-7034 tion a grant for $235,621. The moneywill be used to expand telemedicine at the reser- vation and connect the commu nity to telehealth/telemedicine ANY CONDITION OF LOCATION Rane on: a ? *{ Daynes Music Piano Sale benefiting Hale Centre Theatre, a Utah non-profit organization. fe 4 gaat networks available in Utah and Nevada, and to the Indian Health DAYNES MUSIC Since 1870 Services networkin Arizona. Pen Through telehealth technology, physicians will be available five days a week, up from two days a week now. Telehealth technology allows a health care provider to exam- ine, diagnose and treat a patient + Daynes MUSIC Plano SaLe€ OCTOBET 9 & 10, 2003 - Advocates seek more influence was established by executive order and noneis required by state statute. Diaz said the structure of the offices hasn’t changed since the early 1970s, leaving the directors as advisers to the governor. Her proposal would give the direc- @ Continued from B1 first to be organized in Utah, in tors power to advocate for their respective communities and set policy within Utah. The directors didn’t endorse The Office of Hispanic Affairs or oppose Diaz’s proposal. Several members of advisory com- followed in 1973, then the Office mittees under the directors sup- of Asian Affairs in 1980 and fi- ported the idea. “If the directors had little more bite, some of these 1972. nally the Office of Pacific Island Affairs in 1988. Eachofthe offices problems could be solved,” said Ron Stallworth, vice chairman of the Black Advisory Council. Since 1997, the four directors have met weekly to coordinate their objectives and annually put together a plan to be worked on over the coming year, said Bil! Afeaki, the director of the Office of Pacific Island Affairs. The current plan includes creating a database tracking minorities in education, criminal justice, health care and employment. “For us to really go ahead, we need to know where weare now,” Afeaki said. Shaham’s violin reveals power of Bach By CATHERINE Reese NEWTON REVIEW The Salt Lake Tribune It’s a rare performance that makes the listener acutely aware of the power of music to reach across centuries. Gil Shaham’s violin recital Wednesday at Libby Gardner Concert Hall did that. The centerpiece of the recital was Bach's unaccompanied Partita in D Minor, one of humanity’s greatest achievements in music. Another star violinist, Joshua Bell, played the partita’s final movement in his February Stradivarius; the audience, which included an unusually large number of students and extraordinarily well-behaved children,sat in rapt silence. By contrast, the evening opened with Aaron Copland’s Sonata in G Major. The opening chords from Shaham’s recital to break the momentum,as Shaham and Eguchidived right back in after a speedy offstage “pit stop” to replace it. of his new Fauré CD, and the program’s second half was dc voted to the “rench composer. Selections included the Sicilienne from “Pelléas et Mélisande,” one of Fauré’s announced that this was not the avant-garde Copland of the Piano Variations, but the populis* the Op. 16 Berceuse gentle and inviting. Shaham and Eguchi Copland audiences know and also presented the A Major So- recital at the Libby; Shaham’s love. Shaham displayed a delec- performance illustrated how much the movement’s emotional again and again throughout the and spiritual power can be mag- evening, frequent eye contact nata with tasteful romanticism. Asan encore, Shaham played a charming little novelty from Cop- nified when preceded by the rest with the audience underscored his skill as a communicator. A string popping a minute or two into the final movementdid little of the suite. The receptive listener could feel Bach speaking through Shaham’'s exquisite 1699 table subtlety that surfaced of ali sales will benefu Hale Centre Theatre in Business S Shaham is touring in support greatest hits; this performance could hardly have been lovelier. The softest of pianissimos made partner, pianist Akira Eguchi, 10% Help us celebrate) Steinway's 150 Years).% land called “Ukulele = erenade.” Judging by this piece, “opland never visited Hawaii, but the rollicking rhythms and close inter- vals made for off-kilter fun. WEES: TO-BENEFET-HALE CENTRI REON yoru HOLTDAY ¢ cee ae ee