Chris Buttars and School Woes in the Beehive
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Education
I don’t have any idea what came over me just now, I have never called Utah “the Beehive.” Especially odd since I haven’t seen a bee since I left New England.
A Utah state senator by the name of Chris Buttars, a Republican representing the 10th district which includes Herriman, South and West Jordan, has proposed cutting 12th grade from high school curriculums and have “accelerated graduation” in order to save $240 million on the state’s budget. Utah has a $700 million budget shortfall that the government is dealing with, and $240 million would certainly help close the gap that the state is currently facing. However, do we really want the first and most brutal cuts to be to education?
Education is the most important thing that our government’s in this country provide, and it is also the only thing that can stop events like the subprime mortgage crisis from happening in the future. It is also the only thing that will allow us to stay competitive with China and the European Union. So, it seems to me that our time should be spent improving the curriculum of 12th grade rather than just cutting 12th grade all together. How are colleges supposed to respond to applicants who only went to three years of high school and how can Utah high schoolers compete with the rest of the country?
We should also consider the man who is proposing this legislature, Chris Buttars. Buttars has been accused, on multiple occasions, of prejudice against the African American community and the homosexual community. He has called the decision in Brown v. Board of Education “wrong to begin with.” He also said concerning a bill concerning school funding, “This baby is black, I’ll tell you. This is a dark, ugly thing.” On homosexuals, he compared them to radical muslims saying that “I believe they will destroy the foundation of the American society.”
Buttars has apologized for his comments concerning the African American community but has not apologized for comments against the homosexual community. Senator Buttars has been a prejudiced fool who has been elected by his constituency in the past three elections only for the fact that he is a Republican. Last February, the State Senate removed Buttars from his chairmanship on the Judicial committee for his comments about homosexuals, but he should have been asked for a full resignation from the Senate. We can no longer allow people like Mr. Buttars to make decisions and push legislation in our governments, especially concerning education in this case.
Buttars has had past involvement in an organization called the West Ridge Academy, formerly known as the Utah Boys Ranch based in West Jordan. Buttars served as the Executive Director of the institute who’s stated purpose is to “to offer hope and healing to families.” However, their has been controversy over the practices of the Academy including one case where a resident claimed that he was abused and filed a lawsuit against them in 2008. You can also find a lot on mormongulag.com about alleged activities going on inside the Academy. If these stories are true, Buttars doesn’t know anything about education and should not be making policy concerning it.
I ask the people of District 10 in Utah not to re-elect this person in 2012 and to even ask for his resignation from the Senate. You should be ashamed and embarrassed that you have elected someone who is undeniably dangerous.
