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Conservative Attack Coming to Your Town
Conservatives in the state legislature have spent years defunding state education support; now they may be coming to your town to attack your schools directly.
As MPR has reported, conservative legislators are kicking off a statewide campaign opposing local levy referenda. Their transparently disingenuous rationale? The state's $50 per pupil increase in the last legislative session.
Never mind that many districts are asking to renew or increase levy amounts in the hundreds or thousands of dollars. Never mind that the $50 pity increase from the state was meant to partially offset the delayed state payments to local schools. Never mind that state support is almost 13% lower per pupil than it was in 2003, when adjusted for inflation.
No, what matters to these conservatives is that public schools always be asked to do more with less. They've pledged “no new taxes,” so they can “starve the beast” and shrink government “to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” Say what you will about the ills of our education system, but trying to improve our children's opportunities for the future doesn't strike me as a particularly beastly endeavor.
For as much as they praise “the will of the people” and the strength of community, that apparently only counts if the people and their communities agree with the conservative mindset. Who are these people to come into our communities and tell us how much we're allowed to support our neighbors, kids, and grandkids?
Some school systems have problems, but starving them to death is not going to fix anything. Telling us how much we should do to support our community's children – and hiding behind their own cover-our-butts spending offset – says volumes about how little regard conservatives have for our compassion, our decisions, and our intelligence.
Posted in Education | Related Topics: K-12 education Education Funding Conservative Policy "No New Taxes"
38 Comments
September 27, 2011 at 10:32 pm
You have to back up and read all the posts in this series Mike Rust. When Teachers Unions use their power to take away from our children the ability to participate in our republic that is the biggest reason against them having 30-60 times their rightfull power in society. The racial/socioeconomic discrepencies present under your control are further proof of miguided power. I do not fault them for motivated organization but I do fault them for using that power in very abusive bullying ways.
September 27, 2011 at 10:24 am
The most notable thing about many of the commentators here is, in addition to sweeping generalities and statements of fact presented with little evidence, their hostility.
It often feels to me as though some of them jump into the commentary looking for a fight—and certainly not enlightenment or even a real discussion. Noise and blame and anger.
September 27, 2011 at 10:04 am
Excellent point Ginny. There are too many other Tea Party meembers out there who use facts like Michelle Bachmann. They seem to make them up because it sounds good. Notice the woman who allegedly talked to Bachmann about a immunization retarding her child has not come forward? Just more BS, like that of WD Billy and Mike Downing. Both are Tea Partiers looking for something to hate.
September 26, 2011 at 10:46 am
As a historian, generalities and anecdotes have little credibility or authority by themselves. For that, you must find other sources, such as other personal accounts (more than 1 or 2 friends, for example), any documents that show what transpired, sometimes the result of much digging and inventive searching, and the closer to the actual events as possible), any newspaper reports or, now, possible online reports, any information in, say, a manuscripts collection, and the like.
Otherwise, it’s just opinion and anecdotal, not historical authentiticity.
September 26, 2011 at 10:16 am
And which party drove out Durenberger and Arnie Carlson? And which party drove out any pro-choice or pro women’s rights members. Ask Emily Anne Staples who was a Republican National committeewoman. Both parties tend to discourage people who disagree with their platform. I also know how to spell their, there, and they’re because I had very good public school teachers.
September 26, 2011 at 8:40 am
Mike, what part of teachers not teaching civics do you not understand? It is all part of the Stalinist purges I have spoken of within the party. It didn’t stop their and the proof is clear. Bill, by this response it is clear that you have a norrow agenda and do not take time to read others response. I did NOT address the lack of civics education in our schools (perhaps another time) My question to you was about the “imbalance” of DFL delegates at the state convention a per your post of 9-19 @1:24pm. Please address the question I possed, not one i did not ask. Thanks!
September 26, 2011 at 6:59 am
Glad to entertain you Ginny but what would you call it when good labor people are driven out because of religious beliefs, gun rights, gay rights, and pro-life beliefs. It is not very bright of union minorities to drive out their own over their own over non union issues. You can deny it all you want but I was there and now know a lot of new republicans thanks to folks like you. Their movement into the GOP has greatly affected the GOP as well. I guess I could have called them Maoist purges, at any rate it wasn’t very American.
September 22, 2011 at 10:51 pm
Danny boy, read all the words in context. It is up to you and your acusations to prove me wrong not for me to prove myself right in a situation where we both know that no such proof exists because the party has no interest in keeping such records. I offered all the proof that exists, my headcount, if your calling me a liar, the proof falls on you. I have made my case publically without any party challenge which I did prove.
September 22, 2011 at 10:42 pm
Mike, what part of teachers not teaching civics do you not understand? It is all part of the Stalinist purges I have spoken of within the party. It didn’t stop their and the proof is clear. Spin this all you want but when we have a teachers union that is activily undermining political participation by the lower classes it IS their fault It all ties back to the most racially/economically biased education system we have ever seen. Your good buddies are puposely putting their union and their children above our children. Don’t tell me you can’t understand that, I will use the L word.
September 22, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Nor does any of this take into account real life—not just numbers. Increases in the population, especially in some areas. Increases in the number of immigrants. Mainstreaming disabled children.
It’s all much more complex than it was even 10 or 20 years ago, and as a statewide community, we have to pay for it. If compassion and caring doesn’t work for you, what do you plan to do with thousands of young people who can’t speak English and are poorly educated because of it, the child who doesn’t learn and needs help but doesn’t get it because of overcrowding.
It’s not even economical to toss them all into the streets. And as many of us keep saying—and proving!—that education increases our prosperity, for all, it gets really expensive.
September 22, 2011 at 12:39 pm
This is anecdotal, not evidence (like Michelle Bachmann’s example of mental retardation as a result of a vaccine).
September 22, 2011 at 9:28 am
Bill says:“The problem is with teachers in the political process Penny is a simple one of numbers. Teachers are roughly 1% of the population yet hold down roughly 30% of the delegate seats at the DFL State convention. Bill, is this the teachers problem or the rest of the population? You seem to criticize the teachers for their public engagement because they, in your mind, are “over represented” I suggest you criticize those that would rather sit on their weekends, watching reality TV shows rather than attending a party meeting and have a real impact on true reality.
September 22, 2011 at 8:47 am
WD Billy—Ginny asked for proof of your warped view. You offered nothing objective except observations from a twisted point of view. I will again reassertion Ginny’s question…offer proof. Your warped anecdotal observations are hardly objective.
September 19, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Ginny, we have been over this grammar thing before, this is a blog not a letter to the editor. As for proof, I am assuming you are speaking of the teacher union thing. Check the Grand Rapids Hereald Review, that is where I published exact figures on 2 State conventions immedeately afterwards. My fellow DFLers had ample opportunity to challenge my figures, if you have ever been to the State convention you would know that they intentionally never keep records of the walking caucuse numbers. As for teachers unions refusing to teach civics, I have at least twice before on this blog made refferance to these attempts at helping the DFL elected affermative action officers from Itasca county at getting this done. Again you can read the record of these efforts in the paper listed above. It is also a matter of record in #!* minutes of board meetings. Feel free to prove me wrong.
September 19, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Bill,
Just to clarify, I am not nor have I ever been a teacher. So it is not my union.
September 19, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Bill: Where is your evidence? Cite some reliable statistics and figures.
By the way, you are not very good on the rules of grammar, either.
September 19, 2011 at 1:36 pm
Bing, you are doing the same thing Michael was doing, trying to slime us by only including the cost of coaching. By not including the facilities and maintenance costs for facilities as well as bond costs for those facilities that are no longer being used for phy ed programs for all cildren you are scamming us with unrealisticly low costs. Many of our schools have dropped phy ed for all to save money for sports for the few.
September 19, 2011 at 1:24 pm
The problem with teachers in the political process Penny is a simple one of numbers. Teachers are roughly 1% of the population yet hold down roughly 30% of the deligate seats at the DFL State convention. Worse than that a recent study shows how little our children are learning from you teachers about our constitution and civic involvement. Having been involved in multiple efforts, undermined by teachers unions, to get civics education back in our High Schools it is clear that your unions are doing everthing possible to undermine working class involvement in politics in favor of your elitist college grads. Yes Attorneys are far over represented as well, but they are not actively involved in undermining the involvement of the poor and working class as your teachers union is. You are using our schools against us.
September 19, 2011 at 8:02 am
I was not aware that being a teacher was or was not criteria for being part of the political process. If so then lawyer’s also need to be eliminated and business people also. Way to many of both in the political process. Sounds silly doesn’t it?
September 16, 2011 at 6:35 pm
Bill - ending activities doesn’t work financially (600K of spend in our 20MM district) and motivationally (many kids come to school for their band, theater, athletic participation). Personally I’d rather see class sizes expand than harshly cut activities….
I won’t address your union rant because you’re pontificating. If you don’t like unions that’s fine. But your emotion blinds you from the primary reason local levies are being raised: the state per pupil funding allowance isn’t keeping up with inflation.
It was $5074 in FY08, $5124 in FY09, unchanged in FY10, unchanged in Fy11, and $5174 this year. That averages to a .4% increase each year… and remember that this year 40% of that 5174/kid unit won’t be cash-flowed…
September 16, 2011 at 6:23 pm
Careful - some of us school board members are conservatives, too!
As a conservative K-12 education is something I can embrace—even our founders pushed this to the state level for execution. The Minnesota constitution requires adequate and uniform funding.
I don’t see the same constitutionality for H&HS;, but that’s for another time…
If the attack comes districts just need to defend their operations and results. Compare your operating costs and test scores to neighboring districts and the state average. If you’re asking residents to support a local levy, you better have your facts straight, the consequences defined for not passing it, and the patience of Job in meeting after meeting.
Good luck to all this levy season. And if you want to attack anyone, point your finger at our state legislators.
September 15, 2011 at 10:33 pm
Who do you think you are fooling Michael, what costs are you including in your figures and which ones are you leaving out. You take a very rich metro district for your example rather than a small rural district. In Itasca county we have sports cost running upwards of 25% when all costs are taken into account including facilities costs, coaches, equipment and everything else. I sincerely doubt that the real figure is anywhere near that low even in the example you sited. I played this game before in SD 318 and won, want to try for 2 out of 2? Put some real meat behind your words.
September 15, 2011 at 9:30 pm
It is interesting that the two conservative commenters have difficulty spelling correctly the words there and too. I wonder if their poorly paid or two year degree teachers are responsible for their lack of proper English, or did they just not do their homework?
September 15, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Spending money doesn’t guarantee students will learn. But spending can help motivated students to learn. If Conservatives think public school budgets need to be cut, then current tax loopholes and incentives for private education needs adjusing. If we keep cutting then how in the world can we compete with the rest of the world?
September 15, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Just to provide some context, athletic spending is not a major part of school budgets.
In Rochester, for example, the annual athletic budget is about $1.5 million, out of a total budget of roughly $140 million. In other words, just over 1% of Rochester’s school spending goes to sports.
Most school spending is already going into the normal school day, and one of our problems is that there’s little left to cut outside of that (and what you could cut won’t make a big enough difference).
The figures I pulled from Rochester are available here:
http://www.rochester.k12.mn.us/se3bin/clientgenie.cgi?butName=Budgets&cId;=&permission=3&username;=
September 15, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Oh, and other activities also help keep students busy and have beneficial effects on their studies and learning. So do other classes where kids get together to accomplish something. Boys and girls.
Art and music both do that. How about other sports: swimming teams, hockey, baseball? So do other classes where kids get together to accomplish something. Boys and girls.
Children and their parents should NOT have to pay for extracurricular activities that are a legitimate part of their learning including social adaption and teamwork.
September 15, 2011 at 1:10 pm
De-emphasizing sports and not making it the biggest thing at school would go a long way toward cutting spending. I went to a school reunion several years ago. There on a table were displayed sports photos, photos of some of the football players and of the coach (who taught something I don’t remember because he came to class every day and read from our text—what a waste!)
I was on the newspaper; others had been in the choir; some had been in theater. You wouldn’t know it from the reunion display.
September 15, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Ending sports is NOT the answer to the school’s financial problems because it only will end up in increased crime because kids are bored and the parents are at work in most cases. A $50 per pupil increase is peanuts considering that for years, schools have been cutting their budgets down to the bone. Kids need something to do after school and that is why schools offer extracurricular activities and they pay activity fees to participate.
September 15, 2011 at 9:30 am
The biggest winners are the banks. The school districts must borrow money in order to operate under this extended/increased IOU system. How much money for neo-con politicians comes from banksters? Remind people that the reason the world is in its current financial mess is the banks. The reason that businesses are building cash reserves is that many banks are not lending. The school loans are a steady source of income for our troubled banking sector and a troubling hand in the pocket of our current state school funding system.
Surely we can come up with a system that allows the state to be the banker for MN schools and cut out the extra expense of interest(commissions) to shareholders of private companies. Why should banks profit from the problems of state fundiing. This is taxpayer money. Recognize the role of banks in education.
September 15, 2011 at 8:45 am
The schools need to get back to their primary purpose, the education of children (end sports and you have more than enough money to do the job). We need to also return our schools to local decition making (not local educators and administrators, but local citizens). We need to return to 2 yr. degree teachers for at least K-6 and stop financing teachers to get their masters degrees on our buck. Master degreed teachers have thoroughly failed to impress anyone like their non union 2 yr degree teachers did just 40 years back. The last big change we need is to eliminate the disproportionate amount of political power that has fallen into teach union hands. No more can we tolerate 30% of DFL state convention delegates being teachers union memmbers when they are only 1% of the population. Yes I have been their and counted heads. The greedy and self serving deserve no sympathy.
September 15, 2011 at 8:40 am
I remember 1974 when I was in 6th grade and my teacher said that she won’t be able to teach us anything because the school was going broke.
I laugh today because the same attitude is in our schools and in your liberal little hearts.
We have all been asked to do more with less and we all agree (conservatives) that spending in government is out of control and needs to be cut back. Just as long as it is not in our little world. We have asked to much from to many for to long and it is time we all step up. The state budget is 4 billion more then in 2009 and that still is not enough for you all.
So what is the magic number? What, you don’t know, then maybe we need to get back to basics and get rid of all the fluff that is being taught in schools.
Reading, half the kids graduating can barely read 6th grade.
Math, kids are struggling
Writing, kids do not even know how to write a sentence or a good book report.
History, kids should know this.
Minneapolis gets more per student and yet only about half graduate. This is all about attitude.
September 14, 2011 at 11:43 am
The conservatives do not want to educate us citizens. We might learn something that they don’t want us to know, or more importantly, learn to read and think and analyze for ourselves.
That’s the only reason I can think of for trying to destroy the school system that
“makes sense.”
September 13, 2011 at 3:40 pm
The problem with the $50 the GOP controlled legislature has given is that it is not cash…it is an I.O.U. This I.O.U. is on top of saying the I.O.U. that Pawlenty forced schools to accept two years ago. The schools need cash to pay their bills. Not I.O.U.‘s that are paying no interest and have no date for when they will be paid.
September 13, 2011 at 12:59 pm
The conservative’s are concerned with improving the status of the wealthy in this country. They will continue to do this on the backs of the poor and middle class. They care not one wit who starves or doesn’t get educated. The sad news is many low information voters believe the sound bites all the conservative soldiers put out.
Dan Conner says:
September 29, 2011 at 4:05 pm
WD Billy - Huh? You’re incoherently off the tracks here. Again, nothing but accusations without a shred of evidence. These anecdotal opinions with no supporting evidence.