After reading the article "School days: an extra 45 minutes?" in your July 9 Metro section, I was stunned by the superintendent's lack of vision. I will be a junior next year at Woods Cross High School, a school that had to reduce costs by having one teacher retire, one fired and one teach half days. I see that the $98 million would be better spent getting new teachers, new computers and repairing schools that are in disarray.
I know that my school is 25 years old and has been under 25 years of continuous construction. Adequate ventilation, including air conditioning, could be installed in nearly every school in the state. Perhaps buying educational materials, not just books, but laser discs, VCRs, televisions, computers with the Internet, musical instruments and sports equipment would motivate students more than nearly an hour more of class time. I know that I speak for all students when I say that I am not enthused about going 45 minutes longer; I alone would be happy to see a laser disc that knows that the Cold War ended. The argument that the extra time would reduce the afternoon crime rates can be dismissed because it only pushes the crimes 45 minutes later.Getting students wanting to learn rather than forcing them: That is what the money should be used for.
Brett L. Garner
Bountiful