This is a report to the membership of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) by Charlie Kyte, Executive Director
This podcast is 8 minutes long.
By: Charlie Kyte
ROUGH WEEK AT THE CAPITOL (MARCH 12-16)
It was a long and draining week at the Capitol with hearings lasting late into the evening just about every night. This is part of the rush to get Bills through committees before the deadlines coming up next week.
Two of MASA’s Bills went down in flames as we were not able to get them past the House Education Policy Committee. One was the Bill to begin lengthening the school year and the other shifted the responsibility for excess special education charges for Charter School students from the resident school district to the MDE.
MASA does have 3 Bills still moving forward including one that would invest in early (K-2) students so they wouldn’t end up in Special Education in the first place. A second Bill would allow for schools to use an alternative year calendar on a voluntary basis and some money to offset additional costs are included in this Bill. Finally we are trying to move a Bill that would allow school districts to hire a security firm to do their pre-employment BCA background checks for them.
HOUSE SETS K-12 EDUCATION BUDGET TARGETS
The House set K-12 spending targets higher than those set earlier by the Senate and the Governor. This was a bit of good news. The House target is $919 million with money targeted to the ‘formula’ and to All-Day Kindergarten.
The Senate set their target at $493 million and the Governor was a bit higher in permanent spending. He had another $275 million in one-time spending for schools.
The House also raises taxes to pay for this increased level of spending by setting a new tier on the state income tax for individuals making over $400,000 a year. They also provide $535 million in property tax relief with about 1/3 going to schools.
MORE NEWS FROM NEW ORLEANS
Superintendents Todd Seskar of Cannon Falls and Ted Blaesing from White Bear Lake recently spent a day painting the bathrooms in a refitted school in New Orleans. Here are a few pictures....positive evidence that these two Superintendents can actually do honest work!
MASA/ MASE SPRING CONFERENCE WAS SUCCESSFUL
The MASA/ MASE Spring Conference was held on March 15-16 with over 300 members attending. The speakers were very informative; the chance to renew acquaintances was appreciated. We enjoyed our first ever Spelling Bee in which 10 teams competed for scholarships for their students. The Queen Bees representing Lakeville, Edina and Wayzata were the winners although all of the teams performed well.
EDUCATION MINNESOTA ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP
Education Minnesota held their delegate assembly this past weekend and elected new officers for their organization. Judy Schaubach and Carmen Peters are retiring at the end of this year.
The new president is Tom Dooher of Robbinsdale. The vice-president is Paul Mueller of Brooklyn Center. The treasurer is Denise Specht of Centennial. See the full press release below.
This e-mail is a publication of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) and may be reproduced.
Delegates at the 2007 Education Minnesota Representative Convention, held March 16-17 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre, elected three new officers to lead the statewide educator’s union: Tom Dooher as president, Paul Mueller as vice president, and Denise Specht as secretary-treasurer.
Tom Dooher was elected to serve as Education Minnesota’s president for a three-year term. He will take office July 1, 2007. Dooher fills the office formerly held by Judy Schaubach, who is retiring after 20 years as a state leader for Education Minnesota and the former Minnesota Education Association.
“I appreciate the members’ confidence in electing me their president. I am proud to represent the 70,000 educator members who make up our union and share their passion for the education profession,” said Dooher. “I look forward to standing with them to fight for world-class public education in Minnesota.”
Dooher is a physical education teacher on leave from Sandburg Middle School, Golden Valley, Minn., and currently serves as the president of the Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of St. Thomas, a master of education degree from Hamline University, and a public human resources certificate from the Carlson School of Management. He and his wife, Denise, live in Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Paul Mueller, currently a career and technology community programs and industrial technology teacher at Brooklyn Center High Schools in the Brooklyn Center Schools district, was elected vice president and Denise Specht, a Title I teacher at Golden Lake Elementary in the Centennial School District, as secretary-treasurer.
In other action, convention delegates honored Carmen Peters with the 2007 Peterson-Schaubach Outstanding Leadership Award for his contributions to Education Minnesota, its local unions and its core purpose. Peters served as a choral music teacher on leave from Sauk Rapids Public Schools. He is retiring in June from his position as Education Minnesota secretary-treasurer.
The organization also welcomed a new category of membership. For the first time, it’s opened up associate membership to individuals who support the goals of Education Minnesota but are not part of a local union affiliate, which can include charter school teachers and others who support public education.
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