This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Rhonda Bromley, Alpine District spokeswoman, has written a personal guest column in the Daily Herald, about the convertrovery in recent months over the district's use of the word "democracy" in its mission statement, among other things. In case you haven't been following this issue, a group of Utah County parents has been protesting for months the district's use of the word "democracy" saying the U.S. is a republic and should be recognized as such. They also object to four value statements that back up the mission statement. To see their objections go here.
And from Bromley's letter today:
"Recently a website has been created called 'Save ASD' that outlines multiple contentions some people have with the district. As with any organization, we always have room for improvement; and all 6,300 employees are constantly looking for ways to make those improvements; but Alpine School District does not need to be 'saved.' Great things are happening."
She then goes on to discuss the four values and Investigations math.
The board has already taken some action in response to the parents' complaints.
From my colleague Rosemary Winter's story about the issue in October: "In August, the board modified the language of the value statements to remove terminology that some parents found offensive. For example, 'Enculturating the young into a social and political democracy' was changed to preparing 'our students for responsible participation in a democracy.' Some have cited the term "social democracy" as evidence of a socialist agenda. A few weeks ago a sign with the 'enculturating' statement was removed from the district's professional development center, spokeswoman Rhonda Bromley said."