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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, February 29-March 3, 2020 A-7 The Park Record Bill to reduce prosecution of Utah children advances a s s n Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY – The tUtah House of Representadtives has passed a bill to re,duce the prosecution and incarceration of young children eand instead connect them with counseling. The House passed the legislation Tuesday that would end sprosecution of children youngser than 12 and direct them yinto mental health treatment, sparental counseling and other services. n The measure is intended at rkeeping the children engaged swith their families and lowner state costs by reducing the number of incarcerations. The bill would not apply to minors accused of serious of- Continued from A-1 Funding sought e m n y s thews said. y Park City Board of Education I President Andrew Caplan joined Matthews at the walk-in at Parf ley’s Park Elementary School. s He said the board’s goal is to be able to pay high enough salaries n that teachers would be able to live and work in the communic ty. The district pays teachers the y highest wages in the state — a first-year teacher with a bachea lor’s degree makes $50,700 — y but Caplan said even that is not o enough to attract enough qualified educators. o “Education is no longer a d profession that pays a livable wage,” Caplan said. “When you have cost-of-living increase dramatically, it’s going to be a problem going forward.” Park City Superintendent Jill e Gildea also visited one of the walk-ins. In a statement, she said the walk-ins support all education staffers who help stue dents achieve their potential. “We support our Utah legislators efforts to provide increased funding for public education,” r Gildea wrote. h Caplan said that teacher tent ure and other factors mean that s the teacher shortage will worsen s with time as fewer new teachers s n Continued from A-1 Address scheduled City address, becoming the first mayor to offer remarks in such a setting. The may- fenses including murder, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated arson, and aggravated kidnapping. Children could also be prosecuted for failing to participate in rehabilitation. The House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the measure last week. “We know that youths in their minds and their brains are different than adults, so the system should be different than the adult system,” said Republican Rep. Craig Hall, who sponsored the bill. Utah would follow 22 states that already have minimum ages for prosecution, Hall said. Republican Rep. Val Potter questioned the source of the rehabilitation funding. Rather that costing addition- al money, the measure would have a “positive fiscal note” because the state would carry out fewer prosecutions and incarcerations, Hall said. There were 77 cases in which children 11 and under were prosecuted in 2018, Hall said. Republican Rep. Merrill Nelson asked how the bill would differ from current law. “I don’t know that we need an age cutoff,” Nelson said, noting that many serious crimes are committed before age 11 and 12, especially child sexual abuse. Nelson added: “We should not just be concerned about the capacity to commit a crime, we should also care about the risk of an individual committing another crime.” fill the positions vacated when staff members retire. And that has the potential to affect the entire state. “If the elected leadership in our state wants to have a future for its citizens and make this a place that continues to attract businesses and … the country’ best and brightest, and entrepreneurs, big corporates, people who come here and generate revenue through taxes, then they need to invest in education,” Caplan said. “Because eventually people are going to say, ‘You know what, I’m not coming to Utah, the school’s here aren’t good enough.’ And that would be a shame.” As measured by ACT scores and national tests, Utah students perform much better than their last-place standing in state funding. Trailside Elementary firstgrade teacher Amanda Lawing said the discrepancy comes down to the personal sacrifices teachers make for their students. Lawing is also a co-president of the Park City Education Association, the union that represents teachers in the district. “Teachers are paying for basic supplies,” Lawing said. “I think you have a lot of teachers who are willing to spend their own money on their classrooms, they’re willing to work extra hours without being paid. Because they want the students to be successful, they are willing to put their students’ needs in front of their own needs.” State funding for education is still in flux, and it will likely be one of the last things decided by the Legislature, according to Park City School District Administrator Todd Hauber. An education appropriations subcommittee recommended a 4% increase to the weighted pupil unit, the mechanism the state uses to fund public education; the Utah Education Association wants a 6% jump, in addition to an outlay of more than $600 million for teacher compensation and other perks. The Speaker of the House, Rep. Brad Wilson, released a statement on the issue touting increased education spending in recent years. “When legislators say education is a top budget priority, we mean it — and the facts show that commitment,” the statement reads. The statement also condemns a Salt Lake City teacher walk-out that was scheduled for Friday. The increased funding includes a $1 billion jump in annual public education funding over the last five years, and a 14% jump in the weighted pupil unit over the same time span. Matthews said the increased spending barely gets education funding back to pre-recession levels. And for Caplan, the moves haven’t been enough. “It’s absurd for a legislator to say that, oh, we should be happy with what we have because they’ve done so much for us. We’re last in the country. That’s a fact. There’s no denying it, that’s a fact,” he said. “If that’s going to change then the state Legislature has to fund education and make education a priority.” or in the State of the City in 2019 introduced an initiative known as “Love Where You Live,” announced a new staff post at the Marsac Building — the resident advocate — and outlined plans for a significant expansion of the infrastructure for electric vehicles. The event this year arrives as City Hall appears to enjoy broad popularity even though there is underlying concern about issues like growth, traffic and the affordability of Park City. Beerman is midway through his first term as the mayor after serving as a member of the City Council prior to his ascension to the municipal government’s highest office. The State of the City address is scheduled on Tuesday starting at 6 p.m. in the Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library. Pie will be served. The event will be translated into Spanish and family-friendly children’s activities will be available at the library. Dr. Max Testa is now practicing full time in Park City! What makes Dr. Testa a world-renowned Sports Med Physician specializing in musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary medicine? • Expert in the musculoskeletal system, injury assessments (particularly sports related), physiological assessments of athletes to optimize training and monitor improvements • Pre-participation screening for athletes (youth and adult) • Medical director for BMC (World Tour cycling Team) for 12 years and current medical director for CCC Pro Tour Cycling Team • 28 time and current Tour de France Physician • Sports Medicine consultant to multiple NFL, NBA, MLB and professional soccer teams • Medical advisor/coach to numerous professional runners and triathletes Dr. Testa can see you (and your children) for ALL sports-related injuries whether it be soccer, lacrosse, basketball, snow sports, and endurance sports. Dr. Testa also identifies reasons for fatigue or illness and can prescribe a plan to get you back to peak fitness. For an appointment, call 435.333.3535. 900 Round Valley Dr. Park City, UT 84060 ParkCityHospital.org STATE OF PARK CITY UTAH Join Mayor Andy and City Council for a community gathering to celebrate 2019 and the roll-out of Park City Vision 2020. Tuesday, March 3, 2020 | 6:00-8:00 p.m. Jim Santy Auditorium (1255 Park Avenue) Pie social to follow. Se ofrecerá interpretación en español durante el evento. Please take Park City Transit, carpool, or walk to the event. For more information, please contact linda.jager@parkcity.org or 435.615.5189 Post your best shots on Instagram with the hashtag: #ParkCityPics and we’ll put the best ones in The Park Record! |