The proposal comes as the state faces a $700-million shortfall and reflects the creativity -- or desperation -- of lawmakers.
"You're looking at these budget gaps where lawmakers have to use everything and anything to try to resolve them," said Todd Haggerty, a policy associate with the National Conference of State Legislatures. "It's left lawmakers with very unpopular decisions."
In Utah, the opt-out proposal could prove more politically feasible.
"The bottom line is saving taxpayer dollars while improving options for students," said state Sen. Howard A. Stephenson, a Republican and co-chairman of the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee. "The more options we give to students to accelerate, the more beneficial it is to students and taxpayers."
Because if there's one thing that is expendable, it's education. This certainly shows where the priorities of Utah's elected officials lie, doesn't it.
Republicans are so against raising taxes, that they are willing to literally shove the children of their state into a higher educational system ( if they can afford it ) that they are ill prepared for, or dumping them into the "real world" which isn't so kind in and of itself to a high-school grad of 17.
1 comment:
2 things:
1: i graduated at 16, having skipped a grade for having the smarts...i got shoved to a university at 17...it was a terrible mistake, look how i type...my two cents...
2: utah is FULL of homeschool kids...the state hardly makes revenue from school tax as it stands...using "think of the children!" as an excuse is sickening...the few public school kids left are going to suffer greatly...but that's why they are proposing this in utah, cutting a year off the homeshool curriculum won't make a hill of beans to the majority of the state's "teachers"
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