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Bill Aimed to Place Best Interests of Taxpayers and Students Ahead of Conflicting Interests of Teachers' Union Passes Out of Senate Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Judi Clark, (801) 710-2345
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Today Senate Bill 77 passed out of the Senate Education Committee with a favorable recommendation.

During the 2009 Legislative Session, House Bill 381 (Public Education Law Revisions - Association Leave) was narrowly defeated in the House Education Committee despite rigorous debate by committee members and testimony from numerous citizens in support of the bill. It failed in Committee on a 6 to 7 vote with the lines clearly drawn by those committee members closely aligned with the teachers' union, preventing the elected representatives of citizens across the state from weighing in on the issue.

Crafted the same as HB381, SB77 prohibits a local school board from granting paid association leave and requires reimbursement to a school district of the costs for certain employees, including benefits, for the time that the employee is on unpaid association leave.

On the heels of a report on Association Leave in Utah's School Districts by the Office of the Legislative Auditor General, Parents for Choice in Education in partnership with Senator Margaret Dayton have decided it is in the best interest of Utah taxpayers and students to run the bill again. Released on November 1, 2009, the OLAG report revealed, "The association president represents the interests of teachers which, at times, conflict with the interests of the district." The report also found, “Districts are not fulfilling their statutory responsibilities to ensure that association leave has a direct benefit to the school district.” (http://www.le.state.ut.us/audit/09_bilr.pdf)

"Senate Bill 77 (School District Leave Policies) addresses fiscal responsibility. We cannot afford to divert money away from the classroom, especially in lean budget years. Districts must be held accountable to taxpayers to spend their budgets directly on the education of children. Union salaries are not an appropriate expenditure," states Senator Margaret Dayton.

In opposition of the 2009 bill, HB381, UEA President, Kim Campbell stated, "This bill would take away the voice of teacher associations" (Deseret News Feb. 24, 2009); and despite the recent report from OLAG, the union continues to claim publicly that this practice benefits districts. In response, PCE Board Chair, Robyn Bagley said, "Unions are a private organization whose sole responsibility is to represent the interests of dues paying members. Taxpayers should not be asked to subsidize an organization that does not represent them, regardless of their claims about benefiting districts."

We encourage our elected Representatives and Senators to place the best interests of the taxpayers and students of Utah ahead of the conflicting interests of the teachers' union by putting an end to this ethically questionable practice and passing Senate Bill 77.  

Below is a chart showing association leave for the three largest districts sampled in OLAG's report: 

                      This amount does not include the district’s portion of payroll taxes and benefits.  

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 Parents for Choice in Education is dedicated to ensuring every child has equal access to a quality education by empowering parents, increasing choice, and promoting innovative solutions to Utah’s educational challenges.

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