Show Educating Utah's children Money alone is not the answer oJ The Horizon supports the efforts of Utah's teachers to improve the quality of education in our State Without question one of the greatest gifts any contemporary society can give its children is the knowledge necessary to compete in an ever more complex world Although the focus of today's attention we see the disputed tax refund as but a token of the underlying problem Even should the Legislature bow to teachers demands without additional commitment the disputed tax dollars dollars dollars dol dol- dol- dol lars will disappear into the educational bureaucracy like rain in the desert The simple fact is that there are too few dollars and too many kids in an economy barely able to maintain itself The Legislature now finds itself faced with strident demands from Utah's politically powerful education lobby while although less organized there are no less strident counter demands from froIn other constituencies If there is an answer to the problem it lies in one word responsibility Taxpayers must accept responsibility for the proper education of every child The Legislature must accept responsibility to not only allocate funds but to see they are used wisely Education must assume its responsibility to focus resources on the bottom bottom bottom bot bot- tom line the classroom And at the most fundamental level parents must accept responsibility for the education of their progeny both financially and with involve involve- men ment t. t It remains to be seen whether the teachers walk-out walk evokes public support or anger We can only hope that when the smoke clears the real winners are Utah's children |