To save money, Utah considers eliminating senior year of high school!
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - February 15, 2010 - Imagine being forced to skip your senior year of high school. Or having the option. If you live in Utah, that could become a reality.
In an effort to bridge a $700 million budget shortfall, Republican state Senator Chris Buttars has put forth a plan to eliminate 12th grade in high school, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Facing a wealth of criticism from parents, teachers and students alike, Buttars defended a scaled down version of the idea wherein students simply had the option to exit before their final year, claiming the proposal could save the state about $60 million.
18-year-old J.D. Williams, student body president of Utah's West Jordan High School, wasn't pleased with the plan. "I'm against it," he told the Times. "My parents are against it. All the teachers at the school are against it. I need this year."
Williams didn't make much of the underlying philosophy behind the plan - that high school students tend to fritter away their final year. "If you're the type of kid who will slack off, you'd find a way to do that in sophomore or junior year anyway," he said.
In an effort to bridge a $700 million budget shortfall, Republican state Senator Chris Buttars has put forth a plan to eliminate 12th grade in high school, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Facing a wealth of criticism from parents, teachers and students alike, Buttars defended a scaled down version of the idea wherein students simply had the option to exit before their final year, claiming the proposal could save the state about $60 million.
18-year-old J.D. Williams, student body president of Utah's West Jordan High School, wasn't pleased with the plan. "I'm against it," he told the Times. "My parents are against it. All the teachers at the school are against it. I need this year."
Williams didn't make much of the underlying philosophy behind the plan - that high school students tend to fritter away their final year. "If you're the type of kid who will slack off, you'd find a way to do that in sophomore or junior year anyway," he said.
