Excellent suggestions. Linux, or OpenOffice.org, or both, on the same old computers everyone's using right now could easily equal having more teachers and better pay. How many more and how much better just depends on how much is being spent on MS Office and MS Windows. Based on what I've seen, it's several hundred thousand dollars for the typical school district, and that's every few years because of licensing agreeements.

Prediction: within the next decade one of Kalyn Denny's students will run the Senate Site.

This Private School Voucher law is bad news for our education system. I am very displeased with the legislature.

It is totally disgusting to give teachers and all school personnel the big raise on the backs of the taxpayers who make less than half what teachers make. Teachers know how to moan and gripe and plead poverty, but none of them go without a great vacation each year. None of them drive old cars. They, in general are a complaining group who are never content. If you're going to put more money into education, realign the TOP HEAVY system and require some performance standards of the teachers. A few of them are great, many are lazy and terrible. If the money went to the kids, it might be different, but too much money for education goes to the wrong places. We hear that Utah is last in all categories of education, but in reported national surveys, Utah never shows up on any of the bottom twenty. So, is it just another lie and complaint of Utah education so they can get more and more and more?

I think it was fair to give teachers a raise although I do see your point a bit. Where they should cut back is on the administrative level. As with any government run institution, pork spending goes right to the top levels. The children seem to be at the bottom of the list. After all, the education system is set up to create the future "work-force" not intelligent, free-thinking, enterprising leaders. Private schools are not any better. The voucher system is just a way around the separation of church and state. I'd like to see figures on this but I believe most private schools are run by religious institutions. The other issue that keeps coming up is the extra-curricular clubs in schools. Lawmakers are constantly pushing to ban clubs which they feel are "immoral". That leads to the question, who can decide what is moral? Is it then moral to have students leave the school for one class period each day to attend Mormon seminary? That may be part of why this bill has never made it through although some keeping pushing it.

I guess I was misinformed, the bill to ban clubs did go through. Another victory for prejudice and oppression.