School district technician Andy Lee said TV's are being removed from classrooms and projectors will be mounted in the ceilings that will be capable of displaying whatever is on the teacher's computer. They will also be able to play educational videos and DVDs, with improved sound quality.

The new technology is also user friendly.

"The easier we can make these things, the more likely the teachers are to use them," Lee said.

There are a handful of computer labs that are still in the planning stages including a math lab. While the school will offer a 50/50 mix of Apple's and PC's, some departments lean heavily towards one or the other.

"The math department has gone the PC route because more math programs can be run on PC's," IT Manager Joe Stout said.

Lee said teachers will all get new desktop computers and the majority of them will be Macs.

He reported that while nearly 50 computers will be upgraded this summer, most new computers will not be added until shortly before students move back into classrooms.

Principal Hilary Hays explained they would like to make sure the new computers go directly in new classrooms without being put in storage. She said they will most likely be ordered 30 days before moving into the new classrooms.

Lee added that the longer a person waits, the more they will get for their money in the technology world.

"It's definitely a moving target kind of thing," he said.

Both Hays and Stout showed interest in the new Apple computers that can run both Windows and the Macintosh operating system.

Stout said they are waiting to see if the machines become more user-friendly over the next year. Right now the technology is in its early stages, where both operating systems can be run but it is difficult to select which one you would like to use.

"The software is not quite there yet," Stout said.

A mock up of what will be available in each classroom is being created by Stout. He will present this to faculty members to see if it will meet their needs and collect feedback before any of the new computers are ordered, something he estimates will take place next summer.

Most of what will be purchased is hardware since many departments are happy with the software that is already in place.

"We have really great software in every department," Hays said.

Before making any selections members from the high school technology committee including Hays, Stout and Lee toured different schools to learn what technology was being used.

"We have a great technology committee at the high school. It has a member from every academic department," Hays said of the group that has been meeting for about a year now.

The information they gathered will help the entire committee make a final selection next year.

The post Putting the latest technology at students fingertips appeared first on Park Record.

"This is a very big concern for the board," said member Vern Christensen, former financial officer for the Park City Education Foundation.

Before launching into budget explanations Christensen said the proposed budget is configured based on actual numbers through the month of February, and projected numbers through the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

According to the proposed budget, expenses for the upcoming year amount to $35,258,088. Approximately 85 percent of that will go toward salaries and employee benefits with the remaining portion being spent on student services, building operation and management, and transportation.

The budget shortfall can be found in the $33,215,515 revenue, made up from local, state and federal sources. According to Christensen expenditures have increased by 9 percent while revenues have only gone up by 7 percent.

To compensate for this the district will draw money from what Christensen refers to as the "rainy day fund," or the undesignated fund. During the 05-06 fiscal year $2.6 million was available in that fund, which will be drained to $46,456 in the proposed budget for next year.

"Our rainy day fund should be for rainy day expenses and not for everyday expenses," Christensen said.

He added the danger in using that money now lies in unforeseen expenses during the 06-07 fiscal year.

For example, this year the amount spent on utilities increased, with gas, water and electricity prices increasing unexpectedly, said Christensen.

"When you're a big school district and running a big building you get hit pretty hard by that. Typically that is what the rainy day fund is being used for," Christensen said.

The school board is in the process of weighing a number of options.

"You can either increase revenue or you can cut back on expenditures, the only revenue that we can increase as a taxing body is the voted leeway component," Christensen said.

Voted leeway is one of several property taxes the district can levy. While there is a cap on how much can be collected, the district is not collecting the full amount it can under that state mandated cap. To collect more, a Truth in Taxation hearing would need to be held.

Another source of incremental income for the district is tied to the construction of new buildings and homes, this might generate enough revenue to cover part of the deficit.

The board is also looking into various methods to reduce expenditures, one way to do that is to add one student to every class.

"We have a 23:1 classroom size, if we increase class size we would have need for fewer people," Christensen said, noting again that the majority of expenses is tied to salary and benefits.

The district pays approximately $2.5 million for employee health benefits.

"Many companies have their employees participate in health insurance, one way (to reduce the deficit) would be to have the employees participate in their own health insurance," Christensen said.

These options and others will be discussed at the next board meeting on Tuesday, June 20.

The post P.C. School District’s budget is $2 million short appeared first on Park Record.

The demolition portion of phase I of the Park City High School construction wrapped up last week.

The foundation for a new classroom wing has been laid and a steel framework for two new classroom wings is in the process of being erected.

Work on Dozier Field has also gotten under way with weather interfering some. Project Superintendent Eddie Conover said rain has made it more difficult to remove the soil.

"Construction is just basically geared toward the weather. It hasn't helped us, but hasn't slowed us down," Conover said.

District Director of Support Services Steve Oliver confirmed the construction is still happening as planned.

"We're on schedule, no substantial expenses or delays have happened," he said

Dozier Field is expected to be completed in time for the first home game on August 18.

Since construction began, several students have relocated to portable classrooms, a new kitchen space has been built, and many hours of electrical work and plumbing installation have been completed.

"There was so much preparation work so we could get to this phase," said Project Superintendent Eddie Conover.

As Conover surveyed the area where 38 classrooms will be built he said, "There's literally miles of piping under there."

He remarked how much of the construction has not been visible to the public but with brick masons and steelworkers starting on the new wing that is changing rapidly.

"I think we're in a neat phase of the project. You're going to be able to envision a new school," Oliver said.

He added that people driving past the high school will notice changes almost weekly.

The new classroom wings, with 18 classes each, will help students get to classes more efficiently because they will be grouped together by subject.

"It should facilitate the education process tremendously, that's the intention," Oliver said.

Large windows and improved ventilation will also help the new building to be more teacher-student friendly, Conover said.

When the project is completed in August 2008 the oldest part of the high school will be the original gym, constructed in the mid 1970's. Much of it is being refurbished including locker rooms and new light installations, Oliver said.

During the process Conover said he offers tours to curious students who want to see construction work first-hand, "so (they) will be enlightened to what's really happening."

He added that students have been very flexible in this whole process and very little complaints have been heard from them.

People with questions or concerns about the high school construction process should contact Oliver at: soliver@pcschools.us .

The post New building underway as demolition wraps-up appeared first on Park Record.

"Only you can turn Shakespeare tragedies into comedy," teacher Nancy Bates told them.

She added how much she loved them and said they taught her tolerance and acceptance.

"Just imagine what a great time this is to let your goals, your dreams raise to great heights," she said.

Bates also offered a few words of advice.

"Structure your life so that if you're going to skate on thin ice you may as well dance," she said.

Before presenting the graduates Principal Jerre Holmes said they should strive for the reward that comes with the satisfaction of giving back to the community and be like the man who has worked his heart out and lies down exhausted knowing he has done his very best.

"You have been an outstanding class and I thank you for your contribution to this high school," he said. "Most importantly, I thank you for being you."

Jana Ross, a school board member, accepted the graduates and advised them not to let the world change them and instead to change the world.

The graduation was broadcast on local channel 38 for friends and family that wanted to watch the ceremony from home.

2006 Graduates

Sherilee Bell

Jeremiah Belville

Stephanie Bird

Courtney Bunting

Skyler Burton

Brandi Butcher

Wesley Dearden

Alberto Dela Torre

Alexandra DeWeese

Joshua Donaldson

Dane Ercanbrack

Candice Evans

Daniel Follett

Meghan Furse

Julianne Garner

Colt Givan

Betsy Goodman

Stephanie Hamilton

Lantz Hammond

Bridgette Hardy

Mickenzie Hatch

Whitney Holmes

Megan Hook

Weston Hortin

Houston Jones

Justin Judd

Debra Kenter

Mitchell Knudsen

Shawn Lewis

Rafael Martinez

Danielle McQueen

Demsey McQueen

Kristine McQueen

Kortnie Moore

John O'Brien

Dustin Orgill

Jessica Ovard

Crystal Patino

Jocelyn Peck

Matthew Polichette

Coltan Potter

Aubrey Rees

Caleb Rees

Leslie Rees

Cade Richins

Candice Richins

Colten Richins

Drew Robinson

Jean Robinson

Nicholas Robinson

Joseph Rosenthal

Ryan Schulz

Jared Scoggan

Camille Smith

Whitney Stokes

Jeffery J. Trussell

Megan Vernon

Madison Wilde

McClaine Wilde

Whitney Wilson

The post Grads ‘turn Shakespeare tragedies into comedy’ appeared first on Park Record.

"That's what we went there for," said Krenkel.

The banner was awarded to the team for taking first in its division, last year they took third in the same category. Overall, the team placed tenth.

"It feels great," said senior Derek Painter who added the victory took, "a lot of work and a lot of patience."

Painter is one of two people currently on team to have been there since they were sophomores. At nationals he took second overall on the team and noted the Academic Decathlon team is unique in the top 10.

"We're the only team in the top 10 that doesn't have a class," he said.

Instead, they commit their time after school for prepare for competitions.

Yasmeen Hussain, a senior, was the top scorer on the team and one of 12 students out of 300 to participate in the speech showcase at the national competition.

"It was good because we worked for it," she said.

The team has been practicing since last June, when they received their study materials covering the European Renaissance.

Jane Crosby, a senior, traveled to the competition with her interpreter and placed third overall in the scholastic category, those with a g.p.a. of 3.0 to 3.75.

"It's exciting," she said.

Crosby, or DJ as her teammates call hers, also earned a 957 out of a possible 1000 points on her speech which covered how, as a deaf student, she uses cued speech in her classes to understand complicated concepts that are difficult to translate to sign language.

The work they had to do to prepare included a great deal of reading, and familiarizing themselves with a classic playwright.

"We had to read two Shakespeare plays and we had to read two poems," Crosby said as she listed several other materials that covered music, economics and literature.

Other individual victories include Shane Marcus taking third overall in the category of students with less than a 3.0 g.p.a., and Patrick Paterson, a sophomore placed second overall in the scholastic category.

"The most difficult thing is to stay focused and prepare. These are really challenging, in-depth studies," Krenkel said.

Part of the victory is due to their having a number of older students on the team.

"We had a very experienced team, we have seven seniors on the team, two of them have been on (it) for three years," Krenkel said.

He also credits their intelligence.

"These are bright students," he said, adding the students knew what they had to do to earn their gold banner.

Krenkel said at nationals the team had the opportunity to mingle and become friends with some of the brightest students in the country.

In an e-mail assistant coach Heidi Matthews said their victory had a huge impact on the team.

"I do think that this will be a defining time for all of these students," she said.

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The legislation he introduced last Thursday is a companion bill to legislation introduced by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah).

APPLE would allow five-percent of Federal land in certain western states to be held put in a trust that could be sold or leased, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to public education. In a press release issued last week Hatch expressed some concern that Utah is at a disadvantage because a large percentage of the Beehive State is federal land, land that could potentially be a source of tax revenue.

"Utah simply can't generate the revenue it needs for education with so much of its land tied up by the Federal government," Hatch said. "Congressman Bishop's bill strikes the right balance. He's a former high school teacher who knows Utah's education system like the back of his hand. Rob worked for years with local and state leaders to come up with a plan that helps states profit from their public lands and channel those profits to their schools."

The senator became concerned when he saw a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau that said Utah is last in the nation when it comes to per-pupil spending. The national average comes in at $8,280 while Utah spends $5,008.

"Rob's caught some momentum in the House with this bill, and I've always been supportive of his efforts. After the recent report from U.S. Census Bureau that Utah remains last in per-pupil funding, I decided it was time to get the discussion started in the Senate," Hatch said.

In the press release Hatch added, "Sales tax comes from private lands, and Utah just doesn't have enough of it," Hatch said. "The state's top priority is education, and that's clear by how much of its budget goes toward education. The Federal government can, and should, help by opening up some of its public land to raise revenues for Western states."

Park City School District Superintendent Dave Adamson said he agrees that Utah is at a disadvantage in not being able to generate tax revenue he noted the situation is very different in PCSD.

"Park City is in a better place than most other school districts because of our strong property tax base," Adamson said.

The post Hatch giving an ‘APPLE’ to Utah teachers appeared first on Park Record.

Some Park City School District students must pay twice as much to learn how to drive.

Because of class size limitations, sophomores at Park City High School are admitted to driver's education on a first-come first-serve basis. This leaves nearly a third of the students to enroll in private courses. The cost of driver's education through Park City High School amounts to approximately $130 while private lessons at the local A-1 Certified Driving School run $270.

PCHS employs one part-time drivers ed teacher throughout the year, Kavin Goode, who is also a shop instructor. In his drivers ed courses Goode teaches approximately 140 of the 310 sophomores. During the summer, Jeff Schwalbe teaches drivers ed and serves about 50 students.

"He's been our only help for quite a few years," Goode said.

He added that Park City is fortunate because many of the residents can afford the private lessons.

"Very few districts can do this," he said.

Principal Hal Smith said there is no fee waiver program in drivers ed for low income students because the class is not mandatory. He also mentioned that he has received no complaints from parents of students who have had to take private lessons.

"I think they look at it as a choice," Smith said.

He added that some parents elect not to allow their children to get a drivers license in their sophomore year.

Both Smith and Goode emphasized that a driver's license is a privilege.

"There are some ways in which the state is trying to emphasize the importance of the driver's license. It's a privilege, not a right," Smith said.

Drivers ed requirements

Students must pass a written test with an 80 percent or above to obtain their learner's permit, and they also have to be 15 years and nine months old. The permit lasts for six months, and the student's parent or legal guardian must be present in the passenger seat.

Students spend 12 hours of class time in a car, with six hours spent observing and six hours spent driving. They must also complete 34 hours of practice driving with parents. This is in preparation for their driving test.

Goode stresses that students who do not practice with their parents oftentimes fail the driving test. On average, his students receive an 80 percent on their driving test with a 90 percent on their written test.

"That's just typical of my class," he said.

Students who do not pass their driving test the first time must go to the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles for any re-takes.

After passing the driving test students are given a provisional driver's license. This license restricts young drivers from operating vehicles between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. There are exceptions to this rule, including if the student needs to be out at those hours for school functions or religious activities.

A provisional license only has 70 points on it. Points are deducted for disobeying traffic laws such as running a stop sign or failing to yield the right of way. A regular operator's license has 200 points on it.

"They have found the provisional driver's license has reduced the number of new driver deaths," Goode said.

The post Some Park City students are paying more for driver’s ed appeared first on Park Record.

Along with this clarification and others a resolution titled SJR9, Resolution Recognizing Right to Participate in Religious Expressions in Public Schools, seeks to explain current laws. The House Education Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to support the resolution. Having already passed through the Senate it is now on its way to the full House.

Sen. Parley Hellewell, R-Orem, sponsored the resolution and said it does nothing to try and change present law.

"It is just explaining what the law is," he said. "You can talk about religion a lot of people think you can't do that."

The committee also voted to amend the resolution to state that it will be sent out annually to teachers, students, members of the Utah PTA and Utah State Office of Education among others.

All committee members seemed pleased with the resolution.

"I appreciate the resolution very much. I think it is needed," said Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville.

Park City School Board member, Lisa Kirchenheiter, said a committee is currently working on a policy regarding the subject.

She said religious expression will be allowed so long as it does not favor or denigrate one particular religion and "as long as it is not offensive and does not interfere with the school."

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