A recent letter by Al Helgerson, president of the Albert Lea Education Association the local arm of Education Minnesota arm is wrong on so many levels.

Peggy Bennett has spent 33 years as an elementary school teacher and won the 2011 Albert Lea Teacher of the Year award. The incumbent, Democrat Shannon Savick, is a retired businesswoman. It is a good thing that Peggy won that award in 2011 as no doubt under the leadership of someone like Helgerson she wouldn’t be eligible now since she is a Republican.

So let’s get one thing straight, Mr. Helgerson — there is no question on who has been in the trenches, knows the ins and outs of education and will go to St. Paul and fight for schools in Albert Lea and District 27A and that is not whom you endorsed.

Did Savick do anything to eliminate the disparity in funding that rural schools receive compared to those in the metro? No! Can vouchers help alleviate and solve the achievement gap? You bet! Should a teacher be rewarded simply by seniority and not performance? Absolutely not! You might notice the article on the front cover of Time Magazine this week and the difficulty in getting rid of bad and under-performing teachers. What is wrong with that? Absolutely nothing!

In any other occupation, if you are a failure you are fired. You somehow believe that an educator deserves protection no matter what. The students in Albert Lea, in District 27A and in Minnesota deserve better. We should strive to provide a world class education and retain the best and brightest teachers. Our kids and grand kids deserve that and more! Your letter about putting politics before what is best for kids shows exactly what is wrong with Education Minnesota and your endorsement. Overlooking an educator because she is a member of a political party you don’t like shows just how out of touch unions are with education in Minnesota. Your letter shows that your motives and actions are about money and self-preservation of archaic and outdated policies not doing what is best for our kids.

Peggy Bennett, the voters of 27A and the parents, taxpayers and teachers of Albert Lea schools deserve better than that nonsense you wrote.

 

David Anderson

Lonsdale