State AFL-CIO backs reform of public school funding

Minnesota’s largest labor federation took a stand at its biennial convention Sept. 14-16 in support of equitable, sustainable, predictable and sufficient funding for the state’s public schools.

Delegates to the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s 49th Constitutional Convention in Duluth overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for “structural education finance reform.” Submitted by Education Minnesota, the resolution puts the full force of 300,000 working Minnesotans behind the reform initiative.

On the convention floor, Education Minnesota members spoke to the need to change the way public schools receive funding.

“Funding for schools should not be arbitrary,” said Joe Cerar, a teacher at Plainview-Elgin-Millville. “It should be reliable, sustainable and adequate to allow teachers to do our jobs.”

But during the past five years, as the economy has soured and the state has scrambled to balance budget shortfalls without increasing revenues, funding for schools has dried up.

The state’s own numbers indicate that to restore real state aid to 2002-03 levels, Minnesota would need to increase school aid above the projected current law amounts by $1.4 billion in 2009-10 and $1.5 billion in 2010-11.

Education Minnesota sent 29 delegates to the state AFL-CIO convention in Duluth.

State funding neither reliable nor adequate
Without a stable stream of state revenue for their schools, Stillwater teacher Joan Beaver said, teachers are left lobbying their communities for the funds necessary to do their jobs.

“As a teacher, I want to focus on teaching, on the students,” Beaver said. “What teachers have been forced to do the last several years is go out and campaign for a levy referendum.”

Passage of local levies, meanwhile, often is subject to the “whims of the economy,” Cerar said. “So when the economy is going well, our funding is up, and when it’s going poorly, it’s down.”

Without a stable stream of revenue from year to year, school districts often are forced to lay off teachers annually to meet worst-case budget scenarios. Anoka-Hennepin teacher Julie Blaha said that cycle of layoffs hits new teachers hardest, as they tend to be the ones who suffer the bad news.
“They go to their union rep with a pink slip in hand and tears in their eyes, and ask what to do,” Blaha said. “I don’t know what to tell them.”

It’s no surprise, Blaha added, that more than 30 percent of Minnesota teachers decide to leave the profession within their first five years on the job.

Labor puts its support behind public schools
The Education Minnesota resolution passed by AFL-CIO delegates seeks to put an end to that climate of uncertainty, which, delegates agreed, has eroded the state’s nation-leading commitment to the type of quality public education that spawns a vibrant, growing economy with good jobs. Teferi Fufa, a literacy coach at Marcy Open Elementary School in Minneapolis, introduced the resolution on the convention floor.

Beaver said it is encouraging to have the rest of the labor movement behind her union’s effort to stabilize and improve Minnesota’s schools.

“As a history teacher and student of history, I understand how important unions have been to building the middle class,” Beaver said. “It’s great to see that unions understand how important public education is to building the middle class and our democracy.

“Teachers are working people, and this convention has helped us see all that we have in common with other working people.”

MVEA wins community service award
In other business, members of the Mounds View Education Association accepted the Bea Kersten Community Service Award on the final day of the state AFL-CIO convention. The union was recognized for “Chalkboard Capers,” an annual public performance put on by teachers. The performances have raised $200,000 in scholarship money for graduating seniors in the district.

Overall, more than 500 delegates from AFL-CIO unions participated in the convention. They passed other resolutions, held a blood drive and doorknocked for endorsed political candidates.

Among convention speakers were Senate candidate Al Franken, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Jim Oberstar.

January 19, 2009