Bill Murphy
01-09-2003, 12:19 AM
From today's Desert News[Utah]:
"SPRINGVILLE[approx one hour south of SLC] Las Vegas is apparently too hot for the school board in Nebo District.
Or too steamy.
Board members, concerned about the influence of vice in the desert gambling mecca, have turned down requests from a high school teacher to take 35 students to see art exhibits being shown at two major casinos on The Strip.
The group which has since been given approval to visit art museums in San Diego has been told it cannot stop to see the rare art while driving to California.
"Some of our board members have labeled the city 'evil' and there is no changing their minds, it seems," said Beverly Burdett, a Springville High School history and Russian language teacher. "They won't even give us a reason for why they think that way."
Burdett, who has worked in Nebo schools for 22 years, says she's been trying since September to earn approval for the field trip to see the Faberge egg exhibit at the Bellagio and the works of famous artists throughout the ages at the Venetian.
Visitors to the Bellagio are given a rare, up-close view of the famous Easter eggs created for the czars of Russia in the late 1880s by Carl Faberge, goldsmith to the Russian royals.
Burdett says it doesn't make sense to deny students the opportunity to see rare art that usually isn't shown near Utah.
"We don't have Picasso in the Springville Art Museum," she said.
At first, she said, the board turned down the request "because they thought we would be spending the night in Vegas, and that was unacceptable to them," said Burdett, who took students to an exhibit at a Vegas casino five years ago with board consent.
"When we explained that we would just be going down and back, spending only the afternoon at the museums, we were turned down because the board felt uncomfortable approving the city of Las Vegas as a field trip destination." Burdett said she has been told that "under no circumstance" can the group stop in Vegas to see the rare work that draws classes of school children from Las Vegas-area schools.
They are allowed to stop in the area to pick up a new bus driver and for a rest room break but must avoid stops in Las Vegas proper. Stopping at the exhibit would be seen as insubordination, Burdett was told by top district leaders.
Lana Hiskey, Nebo spokeswoman, said the board has approved numerous overnight, out-of-state trips requested by Burdett and her students. A trip to Oregon was approved this year without much debate or questioning, Hiskey said.
But the idea of taking a field trip to Las Vegas even a day jaunt gave board members some pause, she said.
"It's in a casino. Both of the exhibits are in casinos," she said. "They board felt uncomfortable with the destination."
Burdett, who said the students would enter the exhibit through hallways that don't pass through the gaming halls, hopes board members will change their minds at a 6 p.m. meeting Wednesday night and allow the student group to stop in Vegas to see the art work at a 6 p.m. meeting tonight at district headquarters, 350 S. Main. Parents who want their children to see the exhibit plan to ask the board to reconsider."
Uh, anyone here know how many Mormons live in Vegas and have seen said exhibits[lots]. This is the same Springville that's high school was built in the 50's by the Red Devil Concrete Co., which also gave the school mascot it's name. Guess what there was a big uproar over changing last year? /forums/images/icons/mad.gif
Funny thing was that the drive to change the mascot was lead by Mormons who had recently moved to S-ville, not the Mormons who grew up there[town is 95%+ Mo]. Oldies more or less told the newbies tae f*****g blow, although the Devil image will apparently be "toned down a little"[where's the "eyes roll" icon?].
"SPRINGVILLE[approx one hour south of SLC] Las Vegas is apparently too hot for the school board in Nebo District.
Or too steamy.
Board members, concerned about the influence of vice in the desert gambling mecca, have turned down requests from a high school teacher to take 35 students to see art exhibits being shown at two major casinos on The Strip.
The group which has since been given approval to visit art museums in San Diego has been told it cannot stop to see the rare art while driving to California.
"Some of our board members have labeled the city 'evil' and there is no changing their minds, it seems," said Beverly Burdett, a Springville High School history and Russian language teacher. "They won't even give us a reason for why they think that way."
Burdett, who has worked in Nebo schools for 22 years, says she's been trying since September to earn approval for the field trip to see the Faberge egg exhibit at the Bellagio and the works of famous artists throughout the ages at the Venetian.
Visitors to the Bellagio are given a rare, up-close view of the famous Easter eggs created for the czars of Russia in the late 1880s by Carl Faberge, goldsmith to the Russian royals.
Burdett says it doesn't make sense to deny students the opportunity to see rare art that usually isn't shown near Utah.
"We don't have Picasso in the Springville Art Museum," she said.
At first, she said, the board turned down the request "because they thought we would be spending the night in Vegas, and that was unacceptable to them," said Burdett, who took students to an exhibit at a Vegas casino five years ago with board consent.
"When we explained that we would just be going down and back, spending only the afternoon at the museums, we were turned down because the board felt uncomfortable approving the city of Las Vegas as a field trip destination." Burdett said she has been told that "under no circumstance" can the group stop in Vegas to see the rare work that draws classes of school children from Las Vegas-area schools.
They are allowed to stop in the area to pick up a new bus driver and for a rest room break but must avoid stops in Las Vegas proper. Stopping at the exhibit would be seen as insubordination, Burdett was told by top district leaders.
Lana Hiskey, Nebo spokeswoman, said the board has approved numerous overnight, out-of-state trips requested by Burdett and her students. A trip to Oregon was approved this year without much debate or questioning, Hiskey said.
But the idea of taking a field trip to Las Vegas even a day jaunt gave board members some pause, she said.
"It's in a casino. Both of the exhibits are in casinos," she said. "They board felt uncomfortable with the destination."
Burdett, who said the students would enter the exhibit through hallways that don't pass through the gaming halls, hopes board members will change their minds at a 6 p.m. meeting Wednesday night and allow the student group to stop in Vegas to see the art work at a 6 p.m. meeting tonight at district headquarters, 350 S. Main. Parents who want their children to see the exhibit plan to ask the board to reconsider."
Uh, anyone here know how many Mormons live in Vegas and have seen said exhibits[lots]. This is the same Springville that's high school was built in the 50's by the Red Devil Concrete Co., which also gave the school mascot it's name. Guess what there was a big uproar over changing last year? /forums/images/icons/mad.gif
Funny thing was that the drive to change the mascot was lead by Mormons who had recently moved to S-ville, not the Mormons who grew up there[town is 95%+ Mo]. Oldies more or less told the newbies tae f*****g blow, although the Devil image will apparently be "toned down a little"[where's the "eyes roll" icon?].