As the school year grinds to its end a story appeared in the DNT about the Education budget that will have a significant impact on teacher negotiations. The following paragraph sounds optimistic:
Each of the two years, schools will get a 2 percent increase in the per-pupil funding formula that pays for general operations. There is also $50 million for a new preschool program called “School Readiness Plus,” which prioritizes low-income students, as well as $20 million more for early-learning scholarships.
But a few short paragraphs beyond it come calls from the teachers union for Governor Dayton to veto the bill. There is a Republican inspired language allowing Districts more freedom in hiring teachers without the professional degrees and giving District Administrators more power to keep on and/or release teachers without bending to their seniority.
I’ve not read the actual language so its hard for me to gauge just how serious a threat to tenure and seniority this law would be.
