Quantity or Quality in Education

Samantha Gonzalez Gomez

ENG 2010

Louise Bown
 Education has been proven to be a necessity. Many individuals break the cycle of

poverty from their families with the help of education. Without an access to education,

people continue to live in a cycle of poverty, rather than rising above it. Various states

within America have excellent programs in order to help their students achieve their

dreams of becoming doctors and lawyers. Although taxes have been risen or other

programs are cut, one thing is certain and it is that education is a priority. However,

some may say education is not a priority in the state of Utah. Every year in Utah, budget

cuts are proposed in the legislature and most of the time they are approved. Programs

within public K-12 schools are being closed due to lack of funding. Resources are

becoming limited to these students and futures are now less bright. Utah is at the

bottom in the nation when showing concern for their education system.
 Utah schools have less money per

student than any other state in the nation,

including the District of Columbia

(Fox13now.com). There is obviously a problem

in Utah when they are last in the nation for

spending on their students. Questions arise

from this matter, such as, where is all the

money going? Programs such as concurrent

enrollment and advanced placement courses

are being ripped away from low-income high school students due to budget cuts. These

students can barely afford to go to college and these classes allow them to earn college

credit as a lower price. The cuts would affect programs like concurrent enrollment and

student transportation, and would require school districts to divert a greater portion of

their local tax revenue to charter schools (sltrib.com) Due to the decisions of Utah

lawmakers, many students are not being allowed to receive the education they deserve.

Although there are claims that the education in Utah is improving, KSL news has

shown otherwise. KSL news insist that, Still, Utah's education dollars remain below

what they were in 2008, prior to the recession, Kanter said. This statement implies that

regardless of the plans being made up by legislators, funding is still behind. Like stated

earlier, where is tax money going?

Half of the time, tax money is being seen at good use on the streets of Utah.

Whether you are driving in it or watching it cause an accident on the news, it is there.

The new plans for construction in Utah are costly, time-consuming, and draining.
According to Fox13now.com, The Utah Department of Transportation estimates that

more than $450 million worth of work will be done. Many citizen are frustrated with the

delays brought about from the road work being done. Utah may not be known for their

top education but they are known for their well paved roads.

Utah is also known for hunger. With continuous budget cuts, there are stomachs

growling in classrooms wanting food. How is it possible to help children that are below

the poverty line when there is no funding to help

them eat? When these kids are being deprived

of food, they are being deprived of and

education. They are less likely to focus on

school work due to the fact that they are worried

about when they will eat again. According to

Utah.org, the Utah child poverty rate is 13% (utah.org). Utah.gov also reports that,

three in five students come to class hungry, according to their teachers. There must be

a solution to finding the money in order to fund public schools. Although it is not an

appealing idea, there is always the possibility of raising taxes.

Raising taxes comes with its pros and cons. Many people do not like the fact

that the government takes money from their paychecks. When asked if they agreed with

the statement I would be willing to pay more taxes to increase funding for public

schools, 41% agreed and 31% disagreed (Utahfoundation.org). However, since Utah

is a more conservative state the Utahfoundation.org states, Liberal voters were more

likely to agree than conservative voters. Although more liberals agree with the need to

raise taxes, since Utah is more conservative, this means that the state will not raises
taxes in order to increase funding for public schools. So do our students not deserve a

high quality education?

It seems as if Utah does not see the need for high quality education. Utah

passed a bill in 2016 that says you do not need a teaching degree in order to become a

teacher. As long as you have a degree in a subject like Math, Computer Science, etc.,

you are free to apply and take an alternative route. Schools.utah.gov shows a revision

made in June that says, To receive a Level 2 license, an APT level 1 license holder

shall: 87 (a)(i) complete three years of teaching full-time under supervision of the 88

master teacher mentor. This means that there are individuals out there who are unfit to

teach our students due to lack of experience but are being given the chance to either

fail or succeed with teaching. Knowing a subject well does not mean you are qualified to

teach it.

Students who are in public schools deserve an education that will take them to

colleges and universities. We need teachers who know how to teach subjects and

inspire our students. Teachers in Utah are overworked and underpaid. Deseret News

interviewed a teacher from East High school and he reveals the daily obstacles in his

way. When Platt started, he was all in, often working 50- to 60-hour weeks getting

paid for 40 hours to help with student government, debate, dances and other

activities at East High School (deseretnews.com). These teacher do not even have

time to come home and enjoy their families. There are events that need to be attended

and assignments that need to be graded. With classroom sizes being overloaded, there

is not enough one on one time within teachers and students. These kids are being

neglected of a proper education. When Utahs lawmakers continue to decrease funding

in public education, it makes it seem as if they do not care. When adults are not taking

the public education system seriously, neither will the students.

There is a serious problem in Utah relating to education. There are over crowded

classrooms, inexperienced teachers, teacher shortages, and heavy amounts of budget

cuts. Utah is last in the nation for spending per pupil. It is truly a shame that there is an

emphasis on education put no effort being put in. Why make art a required course to

take when it is the most likely program to get cut.

Every year in Utah, budget cuts are proposed in the legislature and most of the

time they are approved. Programs within public K-12 schools are being closed due to

lack of funding. Many of our future leaders are in these schools. Without the proper

guidance, they are doomed to become another statistic adding on the the dropouts per

year. The school system in Utah is mediocre and the nation recognizes that.
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N.p., 10 Mar. 2010. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

Edwards, Ashton. "Utahs top 10 planned construction projects to know about."

Fox13now.com. N.p., 06 Apr. 2016. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

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N.p., 09 Feb. 2016. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

Jacobsen, Morgan. "Utah's teacher problem: What can be done to keep educators in

the profession?" DeseretNews.com. Deseret News, 09 June 2016. Web. 07 Mar.

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Roth, Max. "What would it take for Utah to spend as much on education as the national

average?" Fox13now.com. N.p., 20 Feb. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

"Too Hungry to Learn ." Utahns Against Hunger , Utah.gov. Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Mar.

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<http://www.schools.utah.gov/law/Administrative-

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Lake Tribune. N.p., 04 Feb. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.