Custom Search

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Minnesota teachers union is being hit from all sides

Topic requested...Please click onto the COMMENTS for the story.

posted by Bob at Sunday, April 11, 2010

3 Comments:

Anonymous Pioneer Press said...

Even DFL allies grumbling about policy positions

By Megan Boldt
mboldt@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 04/09/2010 11:36:16 PM CDT


Republicans love to bash Education Minnesota, claiming the statewide teachers union and its powerful lobbying force essentially control the Democratic Party.

But this legislative session, the union is alienating even some of its DFL allies. Observers say relationships are strained because of the union's resistance to proposed reforms — particularly bringing in new teachers and stabilizing the statewide pension for educators.

"I'm just absolutely frustrated with some of the stances they're taking on the issues," said DFL Rep. Marsha Swails, who is an English teacher at Woodbury High School. "Maybe all those folks in the Education Minnesota building are a little too far removed from the classroom."

The teachers union has a history of making enemies with governors. Governors from three parties since the 1980s, including DFL Gov. Rudy Perpich, ended up as foes.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been a vocal critic of Education Minnesota, especially last month when the state lost out on Race to the Top federal education money.

"Education Minnesota has been the single biggest impediment to reform over the past few decades," the governor's spokesman, Brian McClung, said last week.

But a rift between the union and DFL lawmakers is out of the ordinary.

"I do think it's unusual," said DFL analyst Todd Rapp. "The DFL legislators and Education Minnesota have been closely aligned for going on two decades."

Rapp said the split has been caused by the perfect storm — a labor union with some significant pent-up demands and a legislature with dire budget problems that are tough to fix without making your friends angry.
"It's bound to cause strain between longtime political allies," he said.

Tom Dooher, president of Education Minnesota, said he was disappointed to hear that some lawmakers said the union is a roadblock. But he said he wasn't going to apologize for taking stances that might not be liked by some.

Teachers know what affects student learning, and their union is going to fight for what they believe is right, he said.

"Sometimes doing what's right isn't always popular," Dooher said.

DEBATING ISSUES

Education Minnesota's resistance to offering different pathways to teaching has been one of the biggest sore spots this session.

Supporters of an alternative-licensing bill sponsored by Sen. Terri Bonoff, DFL-Minnetonka, argue that the pool of qualified candidates could be strengthened by encouraging highly skilled professionals to enter teaching.

Candidates would have to have a bachelor's degree and a high grade-point average before entering an alternative prep program. They would receive at least 200 hours of training, as well as mentoring and peer coaching, and would have to pass the required skills exams.

Those who complete the program could teach with a limited license for two years and get a full license if they met performance standards.

10:43 AM  
Anonymous story continued said...

Union leaders have been the only ones to testify against the proposal, arguing such alternative programs offer little training in how to be a teacher and manage a classroom.

"We're not going to support something that lowers standards for teachers," Dooher said.

Bonoff said she has received hundreds of e-mails against her proposal and believes rank-and-file teachers are being misinformed.

And now she's being made out to be anti-teacher, she said. A teacher came up to her recently at the 6th Congressional District convention, looked at her nametag and said, "Oh, you're the one."

"That makes me sad. I'm such a fan of teachers," Bonoff said. "My kids are a product of public schools; they went to Hopkins and got an outstanding education. And I credit their teachers for that."

She said the proposal doesn't water down standards for teachers and will attract teachers to the state's most impoverished schools and maybe help close the achievement gap.

"I'm not going to back down. I'm not going to sacrifice what I think is right for our children's future," Bonoff said. "If that means I don't get the support of teachers in the next election, so be it."

Swails' breaking point this year was when the House Education Committee started tackling a proposal to stabilize the statewide teachers pension fund.

The board that oversees pensions for teachers and administrators is asking legislators to increase employee and employer contributions and reduce annual increases for retirees. Predictions are that the fund's assets could be exhausted by 2032 if nothing is changed.

Proposed changes would cost school districts millions of dollars and reduce paychecks for thousands of teachers and retirees.

Eleven of the 12 stakeholder groups have been on board with the changes — except Education Minnesota, whose representatives argued that the employers should take on more of the costs.

As a teacher, Swails considers taxpayers her employer. And time and time again, she said, they are asked to pay more taxes to support schools. She wasn't willing to increase that burden.

"I didn't go into teaching thinking I was going to get rich. I went into this because of my passion for kids," Swails said. "I knew my retirement wouldn't be lavish, but comfortable."

REBUFFING CRITICISM

Others believe it's too easy to blame Education Minnesota for tension at the Capitol, and they don't buy it.

Rep. Will Morgan, DFL-Burnsville, who is a physics and chemistry teacher at Burnsville High School, said he believes people are just plain frustrated about the state's dire financial situation.

"These are difficult decisions we're making, and you get testy. You lose patience," Morgan said. "Everyone is trying to do the best job they can, and it's easy to lose your patience, even with your friends."

Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, who chairs the House K-12 Education Finance Division, said she doesn't think the union has been a roadblock this session.

She said she believes it was unfair for Pawlenty to blame the union for sinking the state's Race to the Top application. Minnesota lost out on $250 million in federal money to implement innovation in schools, and there's been a lot of finger-pointing.

Greiling said the union's opposition to linking teacher performance to student test scores and upending tenure laws was right on.

"I think they're right to get their backs up on that," Greiling said.

10:43 AM  
Anonymous story conclusion said...

Schools and teachers are frequent targets of criticism. But Dooher said when teachers constantly see a governor and an education commissioner publicly bashing them, it's difficult for them to do their jobs.

"It does wear you down. It does fatigue teachers," Dooher said. "They put their hearts and souls into their jobs."

WIELDING POWER

Education Minnesota was formed in 1998 by merging the Minnesota Education Association and the Minnesota Federation of Teachers.

The union is one of the most powerful interest groups at the Capitol. Last year it spent nearly $1.4 million to lobby lawmakers, second only to the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

And it's a top contributor to campaigns, political parties and legislative caucuses. In 2006, the last time all state lawmakers were up for re-election, the DFL State Central Committee received $447,000 from Education Minnesota. The DFL legislative caucuses in the Senate and House received $156,250 and $129,500, respectively. That was on top of $63,200 to individual political campaigns.

Republicans received about $53,000 from the union in 2006, and individual candidates received a total of $3,200.

Education Minnesota's endorsement also carries weight. All 201 state legislators are up for re-election, and a couple of dozen people are running for governor. The union hasn't endorsed a gubernatorial candidate and doesn't plan to do so before the state party conventions this month.

Plus, the union represents about 70,000 educators, not including retirees. And many are active in politics.

"If local teachers are writing their legislators and saying, 'Don't support this,' especially in an election year, it's going to be difficult," Bonoff said of her bill.

MAKING CHOICES

Legislators and policymakers alike say the economy and shifting demographics mean no new money for schools any time soon.

Education is the biggest chunk of the state's $31.1 billion two-year budget — 37 percent.

Minnesota already is borrowing more than $2 billion in funding promised to schools to help balance the books. A $5.8 billion deficit is anticipated in the next two-year budget cycle. Add to that shifting demographics — people over 65 will outnumber the school-age population in Minnesota in 2020 for the first time ever.

And that means Minnesota needs to figure out a better way of delivering education, said Senate Taxes Committee Chairman Tom Bakk.

"There's not enough money for the status quo," said the Democrat from Cook. "I can't raise enough taxes to solve this budget problem."

"Someone has to at least start the discussion," he said. "Change is hard. Change takes leadership."

Having honest and frank discussions about reform is hard, especially when the biggest stakeholder group in education won't come to the table, said Sen. Kathy Saltzman, DFL-Woodbury.

Saltzman said she faced the union's opposition last year when she was pushing through legislation to change the way educators teach reading. Part of the plan required new teachers to pass a test showing they knew how to teach reading before they got a license. The legislation passed.

But it didn't have the support of Education Minnesota. Instead, union representatives argued it made more sense to decrease class sizes to improve reading, Saltzman said. That means hiring more teachers. And spending more money.

For the South Washington County school district, for example, it would cost about $1.3 million to reduce class sizes by one student districtwide.

"Everything they wanted to do was going to cost more money," Saltzman said. "But we have to be realistic about maybe having to do things differently. It's not about less support for our schools. It's about changing demographics and economics."

Megan Boldt can be reached at 651-228-5495.

10:43 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home