Pawlenty, Legislature-- Must Put Weight Behind Ed. Reform

Category: Minnesota Politics

By Christopher Truscott

Gov. Tim Pawlenty hit the nail on the head Wednesday in his fifth State of the State address when he told members of the Legislature that "nation-leading in student performance isn't good enough any more. Our students need to be world-leading."

Unfortunately the governor's proposals for improving education won't make Minnesota a global leader unless he drops the gimmicky funding formulas and puts the pedal to the floor when it comes to reforming high schools.

After four years of debate over school funding, Pawlenty announced that under his plan every school district in the state will get a 2-percent increase in the general funding formula next year, which hovers below the historic inflation rate and does little to offset years of sub-inflation education investment. To get an extra 2 percent, the governor wants districts to hit performance incentives so Minnesota "quits(s) enabling schools that don't meet our expectations."

He speaks of poor-performing schools as if they're the 20-something who hasn't moved out of his parents' basement and refuses to take on anything more than a part-time job at the local video store. This just isn't the case in our public school system.

Minnesota's poorest-performing schools are the ones in the most economically disadvantaged districts. It's not willpower that prevents teachers and administrators from boosting student achievement into the stratosphere – it's circumstances beyond their control. They've taken on the task of educating society's most vulnerable and difficult students. For that they deserve our praise and gratitude, not back-handed cheap shots designed to score political points in the early days of the legislative session.

The schools that haven't reached the "three-star" rating required for a 4-percent funding bump are the ones that need more resources, not less. They need more teachers, not fewer. They need more after-school programs and all-day Kindergarten, not a mandate to do more with less. Pawlenty owes them more of his attention, not cold apathy that borders on cruelty.

Reforming Minnesota's – and America's – high schools is long overdue. Too many students, as the governor pointed out, are engaged in "academic loitering" and graduate without the basic skills needed to make it in society, let alone thrive in the global economy.

Pawlenty wants to create 3R high schools, requiring rigor, relevance and results so graduates leave with career training or college credit. It's a noble goal the Legislature should embrace and improve upon.

Bold reform doesn't happen overnight, nor does it happen with half measures. If Pawlenty wants to save Minnesota high schools from complete obsolescence, districts shouldn't have an option on 3R high schools. For our state to compete in the 21 st century, 3R schools must be mandatory.

Rather than explaining the terms for opting out, Pawlenty should outline how every high school in the state – from East Grand Forks to Winona and from Worthington to Duluth – will make the transition to a model that will help Minnesota lead in this century in the same way it did during the last.

Education reform is a challenging process and we're not going to reach our full potential without honest policy and aggressive moves. All of Minnesota's school districts deserve funding that exceeds inflation and no district should be able to keep its high schools operating under a pumped-up 1950s model.

However tentative, the governor has taken the first step toward moving Minnesota where it needs to be in the coming years. He deserves an "A" for effort and a Legislature willing to meet him half way. There's too much at stake to allow the animus of the last four years to stand in the way of future progress.

Christopher Truscott can be reached at chris.truscott@gmail.com. He favors year-round schools, but doesn't blame Pawlenty for not going there.