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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
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OP/ED COLUMN
Notes from the Capitol
By State Rep. Paul Anderson
The Office of the Legislative Auditor released its evaluation of the Governor’s compensation plan for K-12 Education on Feb. 3. The plan, affectionately known as Q-Comp, has been in the news recently because it’s the cornerstone of Gov. Pawlenty’s education proposal for the next two years. Under his plan, Q-Comp, which has been voluntary during the first three years of its existence, would become mandatory and give school districts an extra $300 per pupil for implementing the program.
Currently, only 72 school districts are participating in Q-Comp, 44 of which are public with the rest being charter schools. The largest concentration of these schools is in the Twin Cities metro area. According to a survey conducted by the Legislative Auditor, the three main reasons for the program’s limited participation are teacher reluctance, uncertainly of funding in the future, and the time commitment required for the application into the program that makes it difficult for smaller districts.
The big question surrounding Q-Comp, which requires teachers to be evaluated three times a year and gives them merit pay increases based on specific criteria, is “does the program result in a better education for students?”
Unfortunately, the auditors couldn’t answer that question. They told our K-12 Finance Committee that because the program is relatively new, student achievement couldn’t be measured with existing data. They went on to say that because there are relatively few students in the program and because it’s hard to separate other educational initiatives from Q-Comp, evaluating the program’s effectiveness has been difficult.
Received a press release from the Minnesota State Lottery detailing activity this past year, and the numbers are surprising. From July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, gross sales in District 13A were over $4 million. During this same period, 45 businesses in the district served as lottery retailers. Breaking that down by county, Stearns had sales of approximately $2.9 million and Pope $1.1 million. The portion of Kandiyohi County in District 13A has no lottery retailers.
These lottery sales resulted in contributions of over $264,000 to the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund and $560,000 to the General Fund. The Game and Fish Fund and the Natural Resources Fund each received nearly $92,000. And, by the way, over $2 million in prizes was redeemed in this district.
Was in Albany and Sauk Centre for breakfasts this past Sunday. Around 1,500 were served last year at the Sauk Centre Lions’ breakfast and, judging by how long the line of people was this year, I’d say they probably went over the 1,500 mark.
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Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his new office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
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