One Occupy Wall Street protester was ticketed for trespassing and a fire alarm went off over the weekend at the hotel holding the American Legislative Exchange Council's 39th annual meeting in Salt Lake City, according to Salt Lake City police.

Salt Lake City Police Detective Joshua Ashdown said that police were investigating how the fire alarm was pulled, but that nobody was seen doing it. Pulling a fire alarm is a misdemeanor, Ashdown said.

The Occupy movement’s Salt Lake City branch had posted on its website that it wanted to disrupt the ALEC convention.

The American Legislative Exchange Council works with state legislators and the private sector to advance free-market, limited-government principles. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy had representatives at the conference.

Jean Swindell, a spokeswoman for the Grand America Hotel, said by email that a fire alarm went off, but that it was unclear how it happened. She said there was no fire.

An email seeking comment sent to the “contact us” form on the Occupy Wall Street Salt Lake City organizers’ website was not returned.

In addition to protests outside the Grand America Hotel, the Occupy Wall Street Salt Lake City group also planned a “critical mass bike swarm” around the hotel as part of a “week long series of actions and activities to raise awareness about ALEC and to disrupt business as usual for the Elite members of ALEC.”

Ashdown said the protester who was ticketed for trespassing will have a court appearance.

Shaton Berry, president of the Michigan PTA, said in a recent MLive story that cuts in funding led to the problems of Highland Park Public Schools.

But since the district spends nearly $20,000 per student, the question must be asked: How much money is enough?

In 2010-11, Highland Park spent $19,634 per pupil on operating expenses, making it the highest statewide in per-pupil spending. Detroit was the fifth-highest spending district at $15,884 per pupil. 

The ACLU recently sued the state of Michigan and the Highland Park School District for failing to provide adequate resources to help its students reach their grade level in reading.

“When the Legislature cuts funding for public education, this is the result: Students who are years behind grade level in reading and mathematics and districts without the resources to provide adequate instruction or remediation,” Berry said.

But Berry appears to contradict her own statement when she told MLive, “The educators and families of this community have long known that their students were not on track for college and career readiness,” because it wasn’t until the 2011-12 school year that schools faced a reduction in funding.

When asked for comment on her statement, Berry replied in an email, "Undoubtedly, there are many opportunities for cost savings within our school districts, and we applaud the efforts of school boards and district leaders who find and take advantage of them while maintaining a high-quality educational program. Without seeing the specifics of the Highland Park budget, we cannot directly comment on their spending. It is highly doubtful that the $19,600 represents spending directly on the classroom, which is where we must focus our resources if our students are to succeed."

Michael Van Beek, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said Berry was ignoring the real problems by tying Highland Parks’ problems to a 2 percent to 3 percent reduction in state aid last year.

“Highland Parks’ problems started well before the Legislature cut state aid,” Van Beek said. “It wasn’t as if Highland Park didn’t have the resources to provide learning opportunities; they just failed to execute.”

Van Beek also said there is no direct link between more revenue and increased math and reading scores.