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Show CsTfxr1 A vrJ 1 1 ::::i-: Avise asks: Is school district better off now than 4 years ago? by Nan Chalat According to incumbent school board candidate Gary Avise, the die was cast when he and his fellow board members were elected four years ago. The school district was ready for some big changes. "And our original intentions have come to fruition. In the last two years especially, there has been a great deal of improvement," Avise said. Among the policy changes implemented imple-mented by the current board Avise cites the increase in graduation requirements from 16 to 24 units, the lengthening of the school day by one period and the removal of all extracurricular activities from the academic day. "The kids have responded to the challenge. In fact, the need for a new mathscience wing is the result of increased demands from the students. stu-dents. When you see our ACT scores the conclusion will be that our graduating seniors are more prepared pre-pared to hold a job, to compete and to continue to educate themselves than they were four years ago." Another of Avise's original goals four years ago was to address the question of job security in the school district, he said. At that time the school board was involved in a lawsuit brought by two teachers who claimed they had been dismissed without adequate explanation. "We pledged to support human rights and fairness and now we have an orderly termination policy in place." According to Avise there also was some community dissatisfaction with the superintendent at the time, Dr. Richard Goodworth. "But I think he made an effort to alter his administration to accommodate accom-modate the new board. And when his contract came up for renewal shortly after we were elected, our only option was to renew his contract for two years. "I think if we could have offered him just one year we would have, but the state minimum for a superintendent is two years." When the school board did not renew middle school principal Brian Schiller's contract, however, the community's dissatisfaction grew. At one board meeting approximately 500 parents voiced their disapproval of the board's action. "Well, I believe in political systems. The citizens of Park City responded and the system worked," said Avise. As a result of that meeting the board renewed Schiller's contract. Shortly afterward Goodworth announced an-nounced his resignation. "The job just outgrew the guy. He was facing a number of complex demands from a well-educated populace who wanted new energetic leadership." According to Avise, the board spent the months following Good-worth's Good-worth's resignation searching for a superintendent who could provide that leadership. With the help of a 20-member screening committee we reviewed 80 applicants and interviewed seven candidates." said Avise. But the board rejected all of them. "We were prepared to enter the academic year without a superintendent super-intendent rather than employ the wrong one. And I feel now that every hour spent in that search was worth it." The board hired Dr. Tony Mitchell and since then "we have set our sights on making the Park City School District second to none in the state." Among the changes since Mitchell's appointment is the passage pas-sage of the local option voted leeway tax, a 16 percent increase in teachers' salaries and a concentrated effort to increase the computer curriculum, said Avise. "We have brought our student-computer student-computer ratio up to 15 to one and that compares with a national average of 70 to one." Avise added that he was grateful for the support of the community councils in providing direction to the board. The current board also faced difficult decisions in regard to the city's redevelopment agency. In 1982 a dispute resulted in a lawsuit between the city and the school district over the loss of potential tax revenues to the school district because of an RDA tax freeze. According to Avise, as a result of the suit the area affected by the RDA tax freeze was reduced allowing the school district to reduce its mill levy. "It's true I don't see eye to eye with the city about the RDA. But I am very much in support of city-school cooperation," Avise said. Avise, who is president of the Park City Board of Education, also it the head of the city's Recreation Advisory Board and a member of the Utah High School Activity Association Associa-tion Council. "I'm involved because I believe positive results are occuring and because I believe the people of Park City care more than a great many other communities do about education. educa-tion. "I do it because I've chosen Park City to be my home. And now that I have a new daughter, I want to be assured she has the best opportunity for success in life as possible." As to his opposing candidate. Avise said, "Competition only improves the final product." Of I Pu ( pholotn Nan ( hitlut Gary Avise |