To the editor:
Utah spends less per student on education than any other state in our nation. This sad statistic does not adequately reflect Utah's strong commitment to education and the future.This figure is the result of a large school-age population, low taxable wages and federal ownership of 69 percent of Utah. No taxes are collected on any of these federal lands. At statehood, a trust of over 7 million acres was established to provide funding for Utah schoolchildren.
In the century that has passed since statehood, there have been numerous occasions on which this trust has been raided, abused by special interests, misused and mismanaged. It is not acceptable for state officials to stand idly by while trust assets are diverted and lost.
We, the Utah State PTA, applaud the efforts of the Deseret News to begin to bring some of these undisclosed abuses to the attention of the public. We applaud the efforts of the School Trust Land Task Force to study and correct the past abuses and restructure the system to ensure that the state fulfills its legal responsibilities as trustee, resulting in greater funding for education from those lands without increasing the burden on the taxpayer.
We believe that heightened public awareness will lead to wise management, greater returns to education and a brighter future through education for our children.
Joyce Muhlestein, president
Utah Congress of Parents and Teachers, Inc.