Superintendent concerned about school boards losing local control

The Minnesota Senate Education Committee advanced a measure on Jan. 25 that would approve a two-year salary freeze on public school salaries throughout the state.

Superintendent of Albert Lea Area Schools Mike Funk said the freeze would impact all employees including custodians, teachers and administration.

The measure is aiming to help school districts financially by not allowing them to raise salaries from July 1 to June 30, 2013, if approved. Funk said he thinks it would be detrimental to schools because less teachers will want to join school districts with pay freezes, which could potentially send them to other states.

“We need an overhaul of the school-finance system,” Funk said.

He said the salary freeze would be a short-term fix to a much larger problem of school finance. Funk is also concerned about loss of local control in education.

“Schools aren’t completely funded by the state,” Funk said.

Local dollars do fund the schools, and Funk believes there is competent local leadership who could make decisions on salary issues.

“Over time it’s evolved so local control is being taken away,” Funk said.

One of his concerns is that there will be future bills that take away more responsibility from the school board and administration, essentially taking away all their decision-making power.

The Republicans who proposed the freeze say point out that a statewide freeze in teacher pay would save some $80 million over two years and retain about 1,000 teaching jobs. They also advocate pay freezes for all public employees.

Sen. Dave Thompson, R-Lakeville, the bill’s sponsor said the measure is a necessary step at a time when school budgets are tight and there’s little hope of additional revenue coming from the state, which faces a projected $6.2 billion deficit.

President of the teacher’s union Education Minnesota Tom Dooher said the bill will discourage new teachers, who represent the future of teaching. He also thinks the bill will not help solve the budget deficit.

“The bill’s author says any savings will stay with the schools,” Dooher said.

Dooher also said the bill will accomplish little in the short-term when legislators should be thinking about the future.

For now a companion bill will need to be read and passed by the House Education Reform Committee, then both the Minnesota House and Senate will have to vote on it. If it passes both, the companion bills would need to be consolidated and passed by both the House and Senate before it would go before Gov. Mark Dayton to pass or veto the bill.