Three Teachers' Perspectives on the School Bond

These thoughts are from teachers in the Provo school district. Names have been withheld to protect their privacy.

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"I have seen an oversight in the District office for the past several years. Most of the district's leadership do not relate to the teachers in the schools anymore. It seems as though they are comfortable with their high paying positions and forget what it is like to be on a teachers salary. They are out of touch with the hard working teachers that actually teach our kids.

This out of touch sense is being felt by many of us employees as this new bond has been proposed as well. The district leadership has quietly pushed it forward without open community or employee involvement. They say they have had these committees of community members, but I had never even heard of the committees. I am a parent of kids at multiple schools and an employee of the district; you can bet I would have been eager to be on one of those committees if I had been given the chance. My guess is they hand picked the people to be on the committees, just like they handpicked and pressured certain employees living in Provo to put up signs in support of the bond. I told them no, and am still worried about my standing as an employee. Why is everything so secretive? Where is the transparency?

I am glad that this bond has brought attention to the district office. I believe it is a good thing that the community hold the district leadership accountable for what they are doing. I also include the School Board in with the District Leadership. We may have elected them, but we need more accountability back to the community. Our board members are not in touch with the community either.

Every day I hear more things that are brought to light and I am starting to get worried that there is no one holding our leadership accountable for what they are doing. We need to show the district leadership and Board that we are not just going to sit back and let them do whatever they want with our money."

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"I am voting NO because I want the students to be easily access the school by walking or riding their bikes instead of being bused to an unfamiliar area. I understand the benefits of having a school in a neighborhood as apposed to on the outskirts of town. I am voting no, because I know many Hispanic families will be affected by this move as they rely on their Dixon students to pick up their younger siblings at Timpanogos while they are at work and unable to do it themselves. I am voting NO because I am tired of how easily we dispose of things as a culture when we could do better and stop wasting money on NEW things."

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"After working in the school district, (no longer with them) I can not support the bond for the reasons expressed above but also because I have seen first hand how funds are not used as responsibly as they could be.

I worked in a newer school; One built with a previous bond no more than five years ago. They have almost $100k of equipment in the kitchen that has never been used. $100k of waste, and that's just in the kitchen!

I also do not support mega schools but rather smaller schools that cater to the local neighborhoods. Where kids can walk to school and potentially establish stronger relationships with their peers that live in their area, rather than across town. This approach would also save money on the transportation costs of bussing the kids to and from school."