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Show .U & 4 The Magna Wet Valley Newilhursday, Timex March 29, 2001 School Increased education funding must be accompanied by accountability The Utah Taxpayers Association has announced support for significant education funding in the coming session of the Utah Legislature but the Association's Chairman Steve White says the money must some with strings attached. "We cannot simply throw money at the problem, White said. "The Taxpayers Association believes that significant increases in school funding are appropriate, but increased spending must be accompanied by fiscal accountabilreforms. ity and by market-baseresults." want Taxpayers The statewide tax watch dog organization unveiled a plan which it says should accompany the proposed massive infusion of new money into the education system. "Taxpayers deserve accountabil- less d than they should be. A few years ago this finan- ity," White said. cial data December, Governor Michael Leavitt unveiled his public education proposal which would provide a whopping 14.8 percent spending used to be In Fiscal Accountability The Associations first requirement for additional funding is that strict fiscal accountability be required for all school districts in the state. The Association pointed to the mishandling of current school tax dollars as disclosed in recent audits by the Legislative Auditor General. These audits reviewed the massive amounts of money that have 1 1999 Ford Taurus PWR. P60108 GP, 2000 Pontiac Surtflre SE AUTO. P6014Q 2000 Ford Escort AUTO. 2000 Ford TSurus SE RED, PWR, GP. AIR, 14)419 eg 7 nen 19)090 P60! 45 2000 Mitsubishi Calant ES PWR GP. U10077 998 Ford Econolkie Van Conversion LOADED' 2000 Ford Explorer XII 4X4 )99 F50714 LOADED. AUTO XU 1999 Ford gn 07c 19)019 15 PASS EXTENDED P600181 2001 Ford Explorer Sport 060008, BLUE, ONLY ; 77R M50 9(1 007 SC 4x4 PWR. GP, TITANIUM. 4X4, P80071 Rag Cab 4x4 1999 Ford AUTO, BLUE. F10139T 2000 Ford Explorer XU 4x4 REAR AIR. 4X4, 15.257 MUS. P60054 RED. A1 MM S3 XLT4x4 30861 1995 Ford Explorer XU REAR AIR, GREEN, AS01S71 Scott Christian, Millcreek, Westbrook, Spencer Carlisle, Oakridge, Kyle Klein, Plymouth, Presley Simmons, Twin Peaks, Jacob Macias, West Kearns, Matthew Searle, Cottonwood and Ashley Bamum, Millcreek. Those who took part in the 2 level were: Poursaid Azadeh, Churchill Jr, Jenny Ta, Kennedy Jr., Elizabeth Tateoka, Skyline High School, Shilo Platt, Hunter Shanna Woodruff, Junior, Churchill, and Taylor Clough, Churchill Jr. Their projects went to the state level for competition. The naming of the new junior high has been postponed until the next school board meeting. Calls and emails that 1 have received seem to, want either Scott M. Mathison Sr. Junior High or Hawthorne Junior High.- - Please contact school board Title 1 schools in our district. schools doing All of thewonderful things, but are some of the schools are making great strides at bridging the gap among those students who are facing situations that put them at a disadvantage w ith others. School board members asked Mr. Hyland to find out what programs were working best and report back to the board in several months. Miss Utah will attend an assembly at Valley Crest Elementary on March 29,. The performance will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Many of the junior high and high schools are presenting their plays this month. It is a wonderful way to enjoy a nice performance and support your local schools. Cost of the shows range from $3 to $5. are underway for the third Plans Governors Conference to be held at Jordan High School on April 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The theme of this years conference is "harmony Through Education and Culture. A writing and art contest will be offered in conjunction with the event. Cost of the conference is $3.00 per person. For additional information contact Charlene Lui' 5. GSD Ed Equity at Mark your calendars Spring break is Friday, April 13 and Monday, April 16. 263-620- Single Story, Carefree Living Senior Community Never Mow Never Paint Never Shovel Snow Never Climb Stairs Never Do Outdoor Maintenance Again! We Do It All For You! Garden Patios or Verandas West Fork and Murray One Low Price Clubhouse & Pool Our every day low, discounted pnee is clearly marked on every vehicle. Sales Consultants We have eliminated the Selection Our combined Ricks, Silver Hills. McClean, Beehive, Michelle Taylor, Twin Peaks, Katie Watson, Meadow Moor, Kirsten Atkinson, Copper Hills, Kristen Ipson, Western Hills, Olivia Anderson, Monroe, Jon Grimm, Cottonwood, Jacob Kenneth judyweeksqwest.neL At our board meeting last Tuesday evening, Mr. Richard Hyland gave a presentation on Condo Services need lor lenglhy back and forth negotiation (our consultants are compensated the same no matter which vehicle you buy) memory dnme enables you to choose Iran vetwtes over 2.500 new and batons 965-399- 7 3567 South Vista Villa Lane (4800 W) West Valley City West Valley member of The A - ego 7ne 10)1 99 sgonne I 0)999 ydiT ton 70s: U) 1 09 15,585 19SI Ford Valley, American 5-- i my email is 2 Car Garage in Salt Lake Bountiful, City, 3-- or 7 2 & 3 Bedroom Convenience We have nine locations would pass the information on to the readers: Mr Bill Smith has complied the roster and as you can see, we were well represented by the children in our area. Congratulations to all who participated. W inners in the 4 grade level, Joshua Huston of Robert Frost X ?L LUlwWCS View our entire inventory ot new and a day pre owned vehicles at www utahautocollection com Kelly Bluebook Pricing I 1 9)99 2000 Ford Windstar IX REAR AIR, Shopping On-Li- vftnetos are below 0)119 F41 7191 EXTRAS, Best Price All School District Science Fair, 966-557- )999 SO LOADED, A HP60I15 Automatic, Air Conditioning. AMFM Cassette, Power Group, Cruise Control. Tilt Steering My telephone is number of 9)419 egI nne 998 Suzuki Sidekick AUTO. 4X4, HARDTOP. BLUE, f 1216611 1 1999 Ford Representative Swallows proposal is a w in-- in solution to the projected increases in number of student. The Association also supports expansion of Charter Schools and believes that significant increases in school funding should occur only as these types of reforms are enacted. cn 47c 1997 Muda 82 300 Ext Cab LOADED. neighborhood public schools, We White said. believe mys 10)fcf9 9)949 eogI 009 SC 50 The Taxpayers Association supports school choice such as the tuition tax credit bill proposed by Rep. John Swallow as a way of reducing costs by control in growth in student numbers. This proposal could actually eliminate the coming boom in student numbers at about half the cost that would be incurred if those students attended their PROGRAM CARS FROM! V-- received the list theBest of Fairfor the Granite mentioned that as soon Selman, West Valley, Eric McNeil, Parental choice of educational options TO CHOOSE purchase, you can return the vehicle (three days or 300 miles) RAR S1Q 1 F50703 REAR AIR, LOADED. 1999 Ford TAURUS MODEL Peace of Mind Guarantee r you're not satisfied witfi your TRUCKS 1 2000 1999 1 your choice. A Western Hills, and Natalie Bryson, Cottonwood In the 6 grade level the follow ing were winners and thus were allowed to participate in the State Science Fain fast-gro- (MfcUHD WE HAVE SEVEN . members with as I proposed to increase state support for ing districts w ith limited property tax resources by $10 million, from the current $28.3 million to S38.3 million. While the Taxpayers Associate supports this aid of these impacted school districts. we believe that lower-cos- t construction and standardized school plans should be required for districts to qualify for these funds. Currently, there is no limit to the expensive construction of school building in Utah. ) to OQ7 9)99f 544 47c LX P60142 AIR, $10,87 nna 990 egI 7 one ) 009 A 71 R siIU)f 19 eg1 41 R50164 PWR, - I couple of weeks ago, Elementary, Preston Dennis, Pleasant Green, Jose Sanchez, en 07c 9)0 1 9 2000 Ford Focus SE AUTO The Associations proposal to end the diversion of school propertax dollars ty through RddeVdropmCnt'Agencies would nd 'the- loss of approximately $24 million in school taxes annually. RDA tax increment financing. untfi Judy Weefs magnificent school buildings," White said. "The Governor has 9)949 P60072 2000 Ford Contour SE RED, Redevelopment agency reform building funding "When educators outside Utah comment on Utah education, it is common for them to observe that we are the state that focuses our education resources on building CMS 9ego 1 P60098 GP, QQQ 0)999 nne $44 1 1 1939 Ford Contour SE AUTO, supple- State school 1999 Ford Taurus LX )999 GP. legislature appropriated mental monies to the districts for textbooks. White said the Taxpayers Association also wants accountability of textbook prices to ensure that schools are not paying too much for books. The Association is concerned that some districts pay much more than they should, depending on where they choose to make the purchases. $147.9 million of the $344 million SQ P60081 PWR, AIR. of reporting, the Utah State Office of Education has not enforced correction of this problem. Many districts were found to spend less of their own budget on textbooks in the years when the class-siz- e 19)009 2000 Ford Mustang CPE AUTO, The audit calling for standardization 9)909 Sin CQC LX P60064 AUTO. it that despite an earlier audit in 1996 sQ CQR .. 2000 Ford Focus SE RED. for revealed 97c 0) I 9 1999 Ford Escort BLUE.5SP.Afl dont account 1 egI q P6011S GREEN, SPECIAL, some districts which began in the 1960s, allows city councils to take some of the property tax funds use them to build retail stores, office space and industrial facilities in their communities. nne P60107 36,625 MILES, F132361 because fast-growi- 9)93) P41818 998 Chevy Lumlna WHITE. s, sup-plie- they could not identify where Ford Taurus SE LOADED. nobody knows for sure whether school districts are complying with the state requirement that 5.5 percent of school funding be spent for textbooks and instructional The legislative audit on class-siz- e reduction spending showed that many of Utahs forty school districts are unable to account for class-siz- e expenditures. The legislature has allocated more than $344 million since 1990 to reduce class size among the various school districts. Because 59 percent of class-siz- e money has been commingled with other funds, it is impossible to be sure school districts have spent the funds as intended. Consequently, the auditors said 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis IS WHITE, textbook spending showed that reduction money increase of 37.9 percent. CONSOLE, White noted that the audit on "The Governor us proposed to increase state support for districts with limited property tax resources by $ 0 million, from the current $28.3 million to $38. 1 million. " Steve White Accounting for increase in student growth this would justify a school spending CENTER money as part of the Superintendent's annual report but now, its a ailable only if requested and few know to request it. White noted that both audits were critical of the State Office of Education for failing to pros ide the districts with more direction and uniformity in report in the use of textbook and class-siz- e money. While student numbers have increased just 4.7 percent over the last ten year- -, if this increase is adopted by the legislature, state funding for education will have more than doubled, increasing 104.2 percent over ten years. During the last 10 years inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, has been 33.2 percent When added to the 4.7 percent 24V. Accounting for textbook reported increase this year. 1 998 went. been appropriated by the legislature and local school boards for class size reduction and textbook purchases. The common problem with both audits is that we really don't know where the money goes, because accounting and reporting requirements are so lax. The information is not always reported in a consistent fashion. 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