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Minnesota House of Representatives

State Representative Tara Mack

345 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5506

For more information contact: Jodi Boyne 651-296-0640

Posted: 2012-02-17 00:00:00
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NEWS COLUMN

February 17 Legislative Update

Hello from St. Paul!

We are in the full swing of session and committee meetings at the legislature. On Wednesday evening I attended Governor Dayton’s State of the State Address. While I agree with the Governor that creating jobs should be our number one priority, we have a different approach on the best route to get there. Governor Dayton is proposing job creation through one-time stimulus spending, like bonding and small tax credits. I support growth over the long-term by supporting job growth and expansion in the private sector. The reform agenda that I support restores confidence in our economy, improves education and healthcare, and streamlines government services.

Yesterday on the House floor we passed HF 1870. House File 1870 would allow school districts the freedom to use a broader spectrum of factors when making difficult personnel decisions in regards to educators. This bill removes the state's seniority only position and replaces it with a system based on licensure and teacher performance along with seniority. The proposal does not eliminate seniority as a consideration, but it recognizes that number of years served is not a complete measure of competence, motivation and effectiveness.

In the instance that a school district has to make lay-offs, this reform will prevent highly effective teachers from being terminated in favor of less effective teachers simply because of their lack of seniority. Great teachers are crucial to maintaining the quality of our Minnesota schools. There is a great deal of research confirming that quality teachers are the most important in-school factors in helping kids learn. Experience matters, but it should not be the only thing used to decide which teacher to layoff, hire, or promote. Minnesota is only one of 11 states in the country that still uses seniority as the singular determining factor determining lay-off decisions. Doing away with this outdated mandate is important for the future of our education system. To me, it is only logical that the critical aspect of effectiveness is accounted for in decision making.

Next Tuesday, the Minnesota redistricting panel will release the new redistricting maps. The maps are expected to be released at 1:00pm. The new district information will be posted here: http://www.gis.leg.mn/html/redistricting.html

As always, please contact my office with any questions you may have on any state legislative issue at (651) 296-5506.

Have a great weekend!

Tara

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