PCE Press Releases

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Parents for Choice in Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact:

Judi Clark (801) 710-2345

15% Budget Cuts - Yet Classroom Dollars are Diverted to Union Budgets

Salt Lake City, UT — February 23, 2009 — In a year of drastic budget cuts, Parents for Choice in Education (PCE) has initiated legislation, House Bill 381, to ensure that K-12 funding goes towards education expenses rather than teacher union salaries, as is the case in several school districts.

Through GRAMA requests and research of collective bargaining agreements, PCE discovered that some school districts pay as much as 50% of the local teacher union president’s salary even though they are granted full release time from their teaching responsibilities. See a sampling of what PCE discovered below.

Not all school districts participate in this ethically questionable practice.  For example, the Grand County School District’s policies state that “teachers who apply for said leave [as an association president] will not receive any salary or benefits during said leave.”

“One of the great concerns about bills this year is whether or not they have a fiscal note attached to them,” observed PCE Chairman Robyn Bagley, “this bill actually puts money back into the budgets of school districts—money that belongs in the classroom where it can directly benefit the children.”

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Parents for Choice in Education is dedicated to ensuring every child has equal access to a quality education by empowering parents, increasing choice, and promoting innovative solutions to Utah’s educational challenges.

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