Paranoia triumphs
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Friday, February 29, 2008
Audio: Hear Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, question an educator and make comments during the Feb. 21 Senate Education Committee hearing.
If the people of Utah County want to know why the rest of the Beehive State tends to remark unflatteringly about so-called Happy Valley, the most recent reason is Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem. At issue is her ignorance and accompanying willingness to kill additional funding for the International Baccalaureate program in various Utah schools -- including the Top of Utah's Bountiful and Clearfield high schools, and Syracuse Junior High School.
Why does Dayton disapprove of House Bill 226, which would kick in $300,000 to help IB schools fund their respective programs? Because the arch-conservative Eagle Forum, quite active in Utah County politics, has been claiming -- without merit -- the IB program promotes anti-American, one-world-government propaganda hatched at the United Nations.
This is what Dayton told members of the Senate Education Committee -- which, amazingly, she chairs: "I'm not opposed to understanding the world. I'm opposed to the anti-American philosophy that's somehow woven into all the classes as they promote the U.N. agenda." Blindly following Dayton to feed from the ignorance trough were Sens. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, and Darin Peterson, R-Nephi; with three votes against the bill, it died in committee.
The temptation is to hoot over such paranoia. Except it isn't funny -- these people run state government. Dayton, as we noted, chairs the Senate Education Committee, yet apparently knows nothing about the International Baccalaureate program except the unfounded rumors she's been fed by other people and organizations that are equally clueless about it.
This is no way to pursue the people's business. It certainly shortchanges students -- the over-achieving kind who agree to the IB's rigorous study and advanced-preparation course as they ready themselves for college and post-college life. Most students who complete the IB program begin college at the sophomore level, and are much more likely to qualify for scholarships.
Did we mention that the Utah House of Representatives passed HB 266 unanimously? It did. That's saying something, because it's been our experience that the House has more members prone to conspiracy theories than the Senate. Guess we'll have to revise our thinking.
It costs schools about $8,900 per year to be part of the IB program -- that's the fee that goes to the international IB office. It also costs extra to train teachers to be certified IB instructors. That $300,000 would have been money well spent, and this modest investment by the Legislature would pay off in years ahead as students who have excelled move on to universities, graduate and become significant contributors to Utah's future.
We plead with the Senate to reconsider the rash, ill-informed defeat of HB 266.
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