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| Date: | February 15, 2011 | | Contact Name: | Susan Closmore | | Contact Phone: | 651-296-5712 | | Contact Email: | susan.closmore@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| SENATE VOTES IN FAVOR OF BILL EMPOWERING SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO LIVE WITHIN THEIR MEANS |
Last week the Minnesota Senate passed Senate File 56, a bill that empowers school districts to live within their means. Senator Paul Gazelka, (R-Brainerd) is one of the authors of this measure which passed by a vote of 36 to 29. The bill provides relief to school districts that are grappling with constrictive state mandates and unfair and unreasonable demands from teacher unions.
“This is a reform of business as usual as it pertains to our education system. Senate File 56 freezes education spending across Minnesota and offers needed reform. It is not only a request to educators that they help Minnesota live within its means, it will also save good teachers’ jobs all around the state. Right now school districts are struggling with state mandates and teacher union demands. As a result of this burden, our children are losing good teachers. Senate File 56 empowers school districts to live within their means by removing three mandates that present significant budget dilemmas,” said Senator Gazelka. “At such a crucial time, rather than follow a pattern of unaffordable built-in raises which causes massive teacher layoffs and budget deficits for school districts, this legislation retains teachers and protects jobs. I’m proud to co-author a bill that protects jobs and keeps good teachers in the classroom,” added Senator Gazelka.
Senate File 56 would eliminate three mandates that create financial and bureaucratic burdens for schools and taxpayers. The first mandate relief proposal, and one that Brainerd has felt a sharp sting to the tune of $200,000 in January of 2010, lifts the $25 per-pupil fine if contracts are not finalized between school administrators and teachers unions. As it stands, if a deal isn’t struck by January 15 the school district is fined $25 per student, and the teachers unions are under no financial pressure or burdens of fines should the contracts not be finalized. In other words, teachers unions can hold school districts hostage so to speak, if they don’t get what they want because they know that the district will be fined should they not give into the demands of the union.
The second mandate elimination changes the requirement of school districts to spend a specific amount of money for staff development, though it’s important to note that this does not bar them from investing in staff development. It simply puts the decision in the hands of the local school who would know how and where their district’s money is best invested. A third mandate relief proposal would ease the requirement placed on school districts that force them to overlook counselors and social work staff when facing budget decisions. Presently they are off –limits from being considered part of budget cuts, which puts the target squarely on the backs of good teachers. Relieving school districts of these three mandates empowers them to make decisions at the local level to live within their means.
Senate File 56 also postpones salary increases for the next two years for all school district employees. It does not, however, prevent school districts from paying increased health insurance costs for staff. This temporary flat line is simply a continuation of current salary levels in public schools and is a fiscally responsible way to move forward.
Senator Gazelka was elected to his first term in November 2010. Senator Gazelka can be reached at: 651-296-5252 (office) or sen.paul.gazelka@senate.mn.
