Uncertain Outcomes for District Budget

By Bianca Garcia

Budget cuts in the Jordan School District are taking a toll on teachers. Pay cuts, class size increase, and furloughs are the start of their problems.

Class sizes will increase by 4.5 students. With the class increase, students may graduate from an unaccredited school. Losing accreditation can have defective diplomas, which can cause students to not get accepted into college.

With the increase in students, it has been discussed there will be a minimum of 25 students per class. Any classes that have less than the required amount will have to have the class dropped. This can lead to fewer concurrent enrollment and elective classes such as Silver Screen, yearbook, and newspaper.

Teachers will in addition start teaching seven out of eight periods with a 90-minutes prep period every other day. Having to teach more which will help put off hiring new teachers.

The board made the decisions without discussing it with the teachers association. The association has rules of what can be debatable towards funds with the district, and the budget is non negotiable.

“The board does negotiate with the committee of teachers, but not everything is negotiable,” said a member of the Jordan Education Association Teacher’s Committee.

The policy manual on the Jordan District website (www.jordandistrict.org), gives the topics that can be negotiated by the Teacher’s Committee and the topics of accreditation and other subjects due to the budget change are on non negotiable. This will have the board give the final say.

The board made the decisions without discussing it with the teachers association. The association has set rules of what can be debatable towards funds with the district, and the budget is non-negotiable.

“The board does negotiate with the committee of teachers, but not everything is negotiable,” said a member of the Jordan Education Association Teacher’s Committee.

The policy manual on the Jordan District website (www.jordandistrict.org), gives the topics that can be negotiated by the Teacher’s Committee and the topics of accreditation and other subjects due to the budget change are on non negotiable. This will have the board give the final say.

In the event the Legislature makes a 2009-10 mid-year reduction in the Budget, the Administration will recommend immediate action to balance the current budget.

In the event the Legislature reduces public education funding for the 2010-11 school year, beyond a three percent shortfall, the Board will consider and approve other options in addition to those approved in order to balance the $30 million deficit.

If you want more information, contact the Teacher’s Association.