Posted: 9/3/03

Labor Day and its importance to education

Itís not just coincidental that the first day of school falls on the day after Labor Day in Minnesota. There have been some exceptions over the years, but the post-Labor Day start of school is steeped in Minnesota history.

Labor Day always signals the last day of the Minnesota State Fair and is the unofficial end of summer, a time when kids are free from their summer chores and ready to march back to class, like it or not.

In Forest Lake this year, residents should not let the passing of Labor Day fade too fast. This year more than any other year, the nature of ìlaborî will have a far-reaching impact on schools in the Forest Lake area.

These are troubled times financially for most school districts and the number of districts making plans to ask its citizens for more local funding continues to grow. Forest Lake is among the mix and like the other districts, labor costs are one of the reasons. They are the major reason, to be sure.

The long-range picture in Forest Lake has some uncertainty. The school district enters this fiscal year with a general fund budget that has been trimmed some $800,000. It was a move that essentially protected classrooms.

That luxury likely wonít be possible for the 2004-2005 school year when the district projects it will need to cut some $2,250,000 to keep expenses in line with revenues.

It isnít a pretty picture and is the fact that is sending the district back to the taxpayers on Nov. 4 asking for more local funding to prop up the general fund. An additional five-year excess operating levy proposal is being shaped for the November ballot.

If approved by voters, it will bring in some $5 million a year for five years above currently excess dollars now being collected.

The Republicans will tell you the 2003 Legislature held classrooms harmless as a result of its own budget-balancing act at the state level. On the surface the claim is true, but the education-funding bill is providing little or no new money for schools to deal with inflationary increases and the growing costs of doing business.

The Legislature simply told local school districts to deal with their own problems.

When the state is supposed to be taking care of the bulk of the funding for public education, problems will exist if the funding is not adequate. Districts such as Forest Lake will have no choice but to seek additional dollars from the local taxpayers or make major budget cuts.

That brings us back to labor. In no other business are labor costs more intensive than education. Well over 75 percent of the districtís budget are consumed by labor costs. And a major chunk of the labor cost goes to pay teachers.

As we reflect on the recently passed holiday and the importance of Labor Day, where will teachers rate on the scale of importance come Nov. 4?

Teachers in the Forest Lake district have opened contract talks for a new two-year pact covering the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years. The school board is facing a difficult task in finding common ground for a settlement in light of the financial position of the district.

What is fair to expect of teachers in this settlement? Some may argue that because of the tough times teachers should simply bite the bullet and settle for little or no increase.

Thatís not likely to happen and may be an unreasonable expectation of the public.

And the school board has already set precedence by approving a new contract for its superintendent with marked salary and benefits improvements. The action in essence set the bar for other employee groups in the district.

The district is banking that more favorable state equalization formulas that place more of the excess levy debt on the stateís shoulders will help swing voters to support the excess levy plan.

The school board here may have watered down its chances by tacking on a technology levy as a separate ballot question Nov. 4. This second question seeks another five-year levy for $2 million a year to upgrade existing technology and make recommended changes and improvements.

Proponents of the two levy requests will say both are needed now.

How the voters will decide could come down to how well the school district communicates the needs to the public between now and Nov. 4.

There is a strong sentiment in Minnesota right now for no new taxes and this request by the school district could be the poster child for a public flogging if the district doesnít clearly articulate the needs for the additional money. The school district will most certainly hear questions as to how much money is enough.

How the district resolves its labor negotiation with teachers is something that may not be known for months. And the verdict at the ballot box on Nov. 4 will say a lot about how much the community values teachers or if it is more interested in protecting its pocketbook from new taxes.

A defeat on Nov. 4 will most certainly result in the layoff of teachers a year from now.

As Labor Day fades, itís time to begin evaluating the importance of local education and the men and women most of us count on to teach the students of this community.

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