Archive for the 'Utah Politics' Category

Board Voucher Action (Press Release)

Posted by Tom on May 29th, 2007

The following is the full text of a news release from USOE. I’ve added links to relevant documents; the final order is available too. SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah State Board of Education voted 10-4 today not to implement a voucher program in Utah based solely upon the provisions contained in House Bill 174, [...]

The DesNews and Electronic Voting

Posted by Tom on May 29th, 2007

I’ve been meaning to write a small post taking the Deseret News to task for their biased and uninformed editorial on electronic voting. I didn’t get to it as quickly as I’d have liked—the voucher issue (in addition to a rather hectic work schedule) has kept me a bit busy. Today, Phil Windley commented on [...]

Debate and Groupthink

Posted by Tom on May 25th, 2007

I’ve refrained from posting on the voucher debate for a variety of reasons. But I realized some of my comments on other blogs were longer than some of my posts here. The following comes with the hopefully unnecessary caveat that the opinions stated here are my own, and may not be representative of any group [...]

Not tonight

Posted by Tom on May 4th, 2007

Much like Lee Benson, I exercised my freedom to not watch the Rocky/Hannity “debate.” In researching something else [1], I came across the following quotation which summarized my thoughts on tonight’s contest: “It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in an argument.” — William Gibbs McAdoo Guess neither of them will win this evening. [...]

HB 148 and means-tested vouchers

Posted by Tom on February 6th, 2007

Those who know me well know that I’m not opposed to an equitable, well-crafted voucher bill. In all of the discussions of HB 148, including its incarnations in past years, the one piece of information I’ve always wanted but never come across is an income chart showing how household income translates to voucher amounts. The [...]

Saving lives: death and seat belts

Posted by Tom on January 23rd, 2007

This post isn’t about public education. It’s not about technology. It’s about tragedy. I was driving home from a family reunion over the Christmas holiday when someone ran out in front of my car, waving for me to stop. It was dark. I was on the freeway. I swerved, missed him and pulled over immediately. [...]

Fees for Public Schools

Posted by Tom on January 19th, 2007

The Deseret News ran an article about HB 68, which allocates state money to reimburse local districts for the cost of fee waivers. Rep. Merlynn Newbold, R-South Jordan, suggested looking at boosting the state’s per-student funding formula to get rid of fees altogether, if equity is the question. She and two others voted against the [...]

Day on the Hill — Live Blog

Posted by Tom on January 18th, 2007

I’m at the Utah School Boards Association’s “Day on the Hill.” I’ll be live-blogging parts of the discussion and comments from those present. Some discussion of HB 234. I wasn’t completely paying attention (was working on a different topic), but it sounds like they’re missing the point here. Ass I read it, the bill grants [...]

Joint Education Meeting

Posted by Tom on September 25th, 2006

I quite enjoyed last week’s joint meeting between the State Board of Education, the State Board of Regents, and many of our legislators. District officials, local school board members and concerned parents were there too. I found it more productive than other education summits for one simple reason: policy makers at multiple levels were able [...]

My Take on “J2”

Posted by Tom on September 18th, 2006

Tomorrow the legislature will likely cut our taxes. My response is somewhat mixed. I’ve listened to senators, representatives, and even the governor sell the plan. They do a bang up job, and each time I walk away being convinced it’s in the best interest of Utah. But when I stop to think it through, I’m [...]