Utah Moms Care

Another resource I found very helpful in answering...

2012-04-26T13:10:21.274-06:00

Another resource I found very helpful in answering some of my questions was Utah Common Core Standards Questions
A timeline compiled by the Utah State Office of Education found here http://www.utahnsforpublicschools.org/documents/CoreTimeline.pdf. I can't attend the forum tonight but I will be submitting comments in support of UBOE having adopted the CCSS as Utah's core for math and language arts.

An an undecided delegate, I choose not to use my n...

2012-04-19T23:21:44.163-06:00

An an undecided delegate, I choose not to use my name. Don't like it? Sorry. Then again, it's pretty rich having a guy who goes by "Computer Camp" criticizing me for not using my name.

The reason I ask is because I heard a number of rumors two years ago that Cherilyn was behind some late-minute attacks against the leading Senate candidates. It bothered me then and it bothered me today to get another last-minute attack on the leading candidate in the congressional race.

If Cherilyn (or her supporters) had nothing to do with it, I'd be delighted. I could see myself voting for her. But if she (or her supporters) had anything to do with it, I'm looking elsewhere.

Interesting that your name is "anonomous"...

2012-04-19T15:29:46.328-06:00

Interesting that your name is "anonomous". This way you can hide behind such cowardly accusations. Cherilyn never has and never will stoop to "attack" pieces.

I've heard that Cherilyn (or her campaign supp...

2012-04-19T11:51:34.669-06:00

I've heard that Cherilyn (or her campaign supporters) are behind some attack pieces against other candidates in the race. Is this true? If so, I'm seriously disappointed. Is Cherilyn willing to condemn and disavow any connection to the last-minute smears being leveled against other candidates just days before the state convention?

I agree with Merilee (above). I worry a lot about ...

2012-04-17T11:30:51.654-06:00

I agree with Merilee (above). I worry a lot about kids on the Internet, and what they'll be dealing with as they grow up. I'm also interested in the water conservation legislation. Everyone has noticed that our winters are changing, and that is definitely a concern for the southern parts of Utah!

Dean, Thank you for taking a stand against interne...

2012-04-17T08:55:22.934-06:00

Dean, Thank you for taking a stand against internet abuse. My children are learning to use the computer at school, in kindergarten and 1st grade. Which means that by the time they are teenagers, they will be so proficient at using computers that parental controls and other computer settings made to protect them will be obsolete. They will have the knowledge necessary to find ways around them; which means that the problem needs to be taken care of at the source, with internet sites and accessibility. Thank you for making an effort to protect my children.

How do I get on board to help repeal SB 65? I am a...

2012-03-08T14:06:25.780-07:00

How do I get on board to help repeal SB 65? I am a mother of 5 and just learned about the changes and I am furious. Is there a petition started? If more parents knew about this why haven't we stopped this. It's our tax dollars.

I'm just so happy that the legislature is requ...

2012-03-06T20:30:15.917-07:00

I'm just so happy that the legislature is requiring the recitation of the pledge of allegiance to take the place of any factual discussions of sex. I think we'll be so much the better for it.

I have to strongly disagree that what this bill ha...

2012-02-29T00:44:22.268-07:00

I have to strongly disagree that what this bill has become is beneficial to schools. The WPU is a general resource with many competing needs, especially after the cuts of the last three years. They PR'ed it as "not funding growth," but the same amount of money (no increase 2 yrs, small increase last year) got spread over 30,000+ more students, the equivalent of a cut much larger than 1%. (Math help here anyone?...What would be the equivalent %?)

So we are at a huge low point in funding with class sizes increasing all over the state. The existing "classroom size reduction" money wasn't enough to keep up with growth, even in 2007 when funding and WPU were at a high point.

So increasing this current lower WPU amount by 1% is suddenly enough to achieve what we couldn't in 2007? And if we don't drastically rearrange resources to damage 3-6 grade class sizes (both you and Sen. Morgan know there's not all this budget fat lying around to be used "more effectively" as PCE, etc. claim), we agree to lose the much larger amount of previous classroom size reduction money that was never enough either?

Stephenson is laughing his way to the bank, getting Sen. Morgan to carry his water for him. I seriously don't get this. It seemed to me that Sen. Morgan agreed to the punitive trigger for failing to meet a damaging standard in an unwise attempt to preserve the bill when it had dedicated money, and is now holding on to this shell with no money and only the bad "reform" just to make it look like she's actually getting things done.

Then she flies off the handle with such a strident public statement when it is obvious she had neither listened to the actual discussion online or spoken with a State School Board member. The board members were much more diplomatic than me in their discussion, even those who who were concerned with the bill's provisions. And they deadlocked on their vote, leaving the official "supports concept" designation on the bill as Mrs. Ziegler pointed out above.

So instead of working with people she has worked with so well many times in the past, Sen. Morgan hands a note to you asking parents to email in support of her damaging bill? I constantly realize how little I know of the personal dynamics and relationships up there on the Hill, but this whole thing just seems strange. Framing the bill as the State School Board doesn't support small class sizes is something Howard Stephenson would do. The financial realities mean this bill has become only punitive.

Please help me see what I'm missing here...

Senator Morgan, I just wanted to write a quick no...

2012-02-28T09:29:26.478-07:00

Senator Morgan,

I just wanted to write a quick note to clarify that the Utah State Board of Education actually has not changed the official position it took on Jan. 26 that it supports the concept of your bill, SB31 Classroom Size Amendments. Please note that the Board has not "backed off" its support for the bill.

The positions the State Board has taken on bills, including SB31, are on the State Board's blog, http://UtahPublicEducation.org: http://utahpubliceducation.org/proposed-education-legislation/. This tracking list is updated daily.

Respectfully,
Elizabeth Ziegler
Social Media Specialist
Utah State Office of Education
elizabeth.ziegler@schools.utah.gov

Fabulous summary of pertinent legislation. You ar...

2012-02-27T10:36:22.190-07:00

Fabulous summary of pertinent legislation. You are brilliant!

Thanks for the post and for your hard work and ser...

2012-02-26T17:35:24.173-07:00

Thanks for the post and for your hard work and service as a Senator.

HB123 is a poorly thought through piece of legisla...

2012-02-15T14:09:51.658-07:00

HB123 is a poorly thought through piece of legislation. It creates far more logistical and administrative issues than any educational improvement it provides which will create more overhead and reduce the money available for instruction.

I'm embarassed that Dougall and Stephenson are my State Rep. and Senator, respectively. I couldn't disagree with them more regarding the role of government in education.

Market forces will not provide a more beneficial governance model for education for two reasons. First, for a market to function well, all parties must have good information. Not all parents have the time, skills or inclination to acquire good information like HB123 would require. Second, "public" education is as beneficial to society as it is to the individual--it is a "public good." Hence the name, "Public Education." We know that it costs the public, taxpayers, less to educate a child and prepare them to be a contributing member of society than it costs to deal with unproductive people that turn to crime. Education is a great equalizer. It is the force that allows individuals to make choices to change their circumstances. Privatizing education with vouchers, tax credits, or education savings accounts allows the elite to leave the less fortunate behind. That is not the type of society in which I would like to live. I hope HB123 and SB51 are defeated.

Rep. Dougall's bill was held in the House Educ...

2012-02-15T10:14:55.203-07:00

Rep. Dougall's bill was held in the House Education Committee this morning. It will be important to watch for this to either come back amended this session, during interim study or next year.

Great post. I think you're too nice, or at le...

2012-02-15T00:42:01.286-07:00

Great post. I think you're too nice, or at least too diplomatic here. (Probably a good thing and why I would make a horrible lobbyist.)

How would each student be funded $6400? Only by claiming all local funds as state prerogative, plus eliminating the extra funding you detailed for Special Ed. kids, ELL kids, etc. So we would "socialize" education even more to the extreme detriment of the most struggling students.

Dougall and Stephenson admit they think Public Ed. is a morally wrong function of government and should be eliminated whenever they're not campaigning.

Here are some comments from Dougall you may not have seen last year on the blog of Tom Gregory, former Provo area State School Board member, now studying out-of-state. It started out w/ Tom's excellent post on why non-partisan school boards are superior to partisan proposals. The comments ranged to the overall state role in education.
http://alt-tag.com/blog/archives/2011/01/utah-board-of-education-for-non-partisan-elections/

Dougall believes that "Market forces would provide a more beneficial governance model for education," and that the establishment and maintenance of education in the state constitution does not actually mandate that the legislature fund education. (Seriously) Plus, school boards are uninformed and dumb, going right along with Stephenson's ring-in-the-nostril comments last fall.

If there is no funding of "the system," there will be no classes for the students to shop for using this $6400 voucher. $6400 doesn't fund anything. A pooled public resource creates opportunities for facilities, teachers, training, special classes, etc. Dougall is a numbers guy and knows this. I believe this is an indirect shot at his true aim of eliminating publicly funded education.

This bill will be substituted, to see the new vers...

2012-02-14T13:39:28.821-07:00

This bill will be substituted, to see the new version of the bill go to: http://le.utah.gov/~2012/htmdoc/sbillhtm/SB0151.htm

Here's my seventeen dollars and two cents: htt...

2012-02-07T04:42:46.828-07:00

Here's my seventeen dollars and two cents:
http://utahedu.blogspot.com/2012/02/sb-151-stephensons-anti-voucher-voucher.html

Thanks for keeping me informed!

2012-01-30T22:52:59.913-07:00

Thanks for keeping me informed!

You just ripped briefly on Stephenson's Red Me...

2012-01-28T09:37:27.527-07:00

You just ripped briefly on Stephenson's Red Meat Radio...which is most likely a badge of honor. =)

He called you "the PTA blog. What is it called?" Producer: "Utah Moms Care or something."

His brief explanation was that it was actually Rep. Newbold who proposed some amendment about UCAT, not seminary. He claims not reauthorizing the education rules would not hurt seminary time funding. "They make me out to be Darth Vader or something." Though it is "a nice little benefit for schools." You will cause "chaos" if those rules are not reauthorized (as if he couldn't amend the ed. rules back in), you all should have called him, you're so inaccurate, etc.

I don't understand the language completely here on page 1.
http://www.schools.utah.gov/law/2012-Legislative-Session/Fiscal-Note-Input/Fiscal-Note-Input-Docs/SB030.aspx

It's definitely not plain English. "LEA's will see changes in distribution of MSP funds" could mean that they will take funds for Released Time. How do we know?

Though looking here (like nomral people want to dig through this stuff) under E 1 a, it sure looks to me as if canceling these rules would eliminate funding when students went to seminary.
http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/code/r277/r277-419.htm

Sen. McAdams' bill failed in the Senate Educat...

2012-01-25T22:07:02.486-07:00

Sen. McAdams' bill failed in the Senate Education meeting on a vote of 2-3.

This is awesomely perfect and needs to happen. Ed...

2012-01-19T23:25:33.736-07:00

This is awesomely perfect and needs to happen. Education budgets are being killed by a thousand cuts. Great comments from Sen. McAdams.

In response to your questions: No. No. Heck, n...

2012-01-17T20:36:12.041-07:00

In response to your questions:
No.
No.
Heck, no!
Yes.

I think this resolution circumvents the entire idea of "representation."

My thoughts are similar to Anjanette's ... Wha...

2012-01-17T20:32:32.256-07:00

My thoughts are similar to Anjanette's ... What's the point of the law? (Unless it's to tighten up the requests that are already being made - which in my experience often come off as required, not optional. But that hasn't seemed to be Powell's intent.)

Most teachers already ask for optional classroom d...

2012-01-17T14:32:42.530-07:00

Most teachers already ask for optional classroom donations for commonly used school supplies like glue sticks. Do we really need to waste money and time on a law?

I would oppose this idea. One of the valuable aspe...

2012-01-12T16:13:13.839-07:00

I would oppose this idea. One of the valuable aspects to our citizen Legislature is that our representative knows something about the district because he lives here.