To the Capitol! | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Re "Utah ranks in bottom half of country for high school grad rate" (Tribune, Nov. 27):

Instead of starting from what we can "afford," which means the cheapest education system in the nation (at $6,064 per pupil, 51st Utah is $1,000 below No. 50!), let's design a system where two out of three students read at grade level (instead of one out of three), figure what it will cost, and then find a way to pay for it.

It's clear our state leaders will not lead us out of this problem. They're more enthusiastic about designating an official state gun and suing the feds than teaching our children.

We need a sustained grass-roots movement. We need throngs chanting every day at the Legislature and the governor's mansion.

We need Gayle Ruzicka's Utah Eagle Forum minions harassing legislators. For once, Utah Eagle Forum, lobby for something really important.

The issues page at www.utaheagleforum.org is full of phony chimeras, and its scant education page obsesses about "selections suitable for memorization, such as Old and New Testament passages, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, the Golden Rule, the Boy Scout oath, and patriotic songs."

This year, Ruzicka, please focus on getting our kids graduated from high school.

Paul West

Salt Lake City