(00:00:00) Education is one of the primary responsibilities of state government. So the dfl governor and his eye our Challenger were invited to appear two weeks ago before the state's largest teachers union the Minnesota Education Association, each candidate gave a speech and each candidate answered questions from the teachers in the audience speaking first was independent Republican candidate John grunts (00:00:23) f Well, thank you. I'm pleased to be with you today. There aren't many people in this room. In fact, they're probably aren't many people in this state who thought that you and I would be together again. But here we are for me being here is a great honor and a pleasure and I intend to make the most of it because an opportunity like this a chance for a candidate to offer an agenda to listen and learn and to challenge the very people who make a difference is the essence of campaigns people ask me if it's frustrating taking on an incumbent Governor. Not at all being a challenger is great. So great that no one should get to do it twice for years from now. I'm giving the opportunity to a Democrat. But right now and for the next five weeks no one in Minnesota will get greater enjoyment out of what he or she is doing. Then me I get to talk about the future not the past I get to say what we will be doing not what we should have done and I get to talk to leaders like you about what our partnership can accomplish not were differences have driven us apart. We cannot be divided in purpose. Even when we may disagree on tactics. We cannot focus only on what has been done when there is so much left to do it is not enough to take satisfaction in the 90% of Minnesota students who graduate from high school. We must be challenged by the 10% who do not it is not enough to applaud the educational opportunities. We have created for K through 12 students in Minnesota. We must be challenged by the recognition that tomorrow's jobs will increasingly require post-secondary education, and it's To us to assure that every student who has the desire and the ability will have the means to continue education After High School and it is not enough for those of us who were charged by the public to deliver quality education you as teachers me as a policymaker to say trust me. We must be challenged by parents and students who rightfully demand accountability from us education cannot should not be done on the cheap reform and progress require investment you and I know that the cost of limiting classroom size would be returned many times over my agenda calls for a limit an Elementary classroom size of no more than 17 students yet who among you believes that the state's current leadership is willing to put itself on the line for such a program at the estimated cost of 70 million dollars. Money isn't the answer to everything we want to do in education, but there is the plain hard truth that much of what we want to accomplish we'll take resources and the problem is we don't have new dollars. Minnesota is facing a revenue shortfall of 1 billion dollars and I will tell you and everyone else that is Governor. I will not make up the shortfall by raising taxes. We in Minnesota already pay 17 percent more in taxes than the average American city is citizen, but I will also tell you this I will not shortchange education. We can accomplish our goals by setting our priorities straight. Sometimes we will find new dollars for Education many more times. We will be faced with realigning current dollars the things we want to accomplish in education demand leadership courage and a political constituency and they demand that we you as Educators me as a policy maker. Ourselves at risk that we be accountable to the citizens of Minnesota as wise stewards of their tax dollars accountability starts with measurement and as imperfect as measurement in our Fields education and government. Maybe they are all we have so I say this to you if you join with me in a partnership, then I will give you the criteria by which you should measure me in four years first as I have already mentioned Elementary classroom size should be limited to no more than 17 students second. I will create a blue-ribbon committee and with your guidance and I hope participation to conduct a thorough review of State rules and regulations. The committee's findings will form the basis for my efforts to eliminate the bureaucracy that impedes rather than contributes to education third basic educational operating expenses and programs mandated by the state should be paid for by the state will retain a school districts option to These additional funds for education at the local level, but Minnesota will set an example for the nation. The quality of a child's education will not be dependent on the property value of a child's resident fourth education and a grants Administration will be a priority and that priority will be reflected in the state budget State funding for education has eroded in the current Administration where once about a third of the state budget was earmarked for Education. Now only about a quarter as you know is spent on schools you two must become accountable to our constituency not because of what we will lose if you don't do it because of what we stand to gain when you do accountability begins with the testing of those who wish to represent you and your profession an objective evaluation of teachers is essential to education as licensing is to Medicine. Some people have suggested that it is not good politics to talk to the mea about the need for Teacher testing. Well, they are wrong you more than anyone else know the harm and damage that can be done to children by poorly trained in poorly prepared teachers, although few in number, you know these teachers exist. I know they exist and the public knows they exist. It is time that we speak freely and candidly to one another about this unfortunate fact, every profession challenges Andre challenges itself to do better to improve and to change teachers are no different than any other profession in that regard. I do believe that for Teacher testing to be effective to be meaningful. It should be restricted should be structured as peer review. It is you who are best able to create design and administer teacher competency testing so that we might ensure continued public support and confidence as we return education funding to our number one priority more of the same won't we I want to return education funding to the number one priority for state government and I want to ensure that the public supports our effort accountability for what you and I accomplished together must in the 1990s be measured by another yardstick Performance Based testing of students. We have never been able to justify passing students who can't read and can't write from grade to grade. We have to ensure that all children who graduate from schools have mastered essential skills necessary to be productive citizens in a new world periodic testing of students to identify those who need additional help and dissent in in assistance reaches out to those who otherwise will be left behind it says that our schools will insist on excellence and will provide the means to achieve it you and I must earn parents support for this notion parents understand that if their children can't read can't write and can't do simple mathematical calculations. They cannot support themselves. Our job is not to graduate them. But to educate them finally as I mentioned earlier. There's another component to these reforms money. I have challenge you today to join me in making long overdue changes to our education system. Now, let me tell you how I intend to return education funding to a top priority in the grants Administration. Let's begin with the basic Foundation. Aid formula many districts receive Foundation. Aid formula increases that were less than the rate of inflation during the last few years education funding needs to be maintained at at least the level of inflation. This will be a priority in my Administration. I will say this today to the mea in January and my State of the State address and next spring and next spring to the legislature. I will not be part of a whispering campaign against teachers. I will not be like those who publicly Proclaim support for Education while privately bemoaning the fact that teachers make too much money. They don't You have my support for competitive pay and for ensuring all schools receive increased Foundation Aid at at least the levels of inflation a second key ingredient of my education funding program will be a return to adequate levels of training and experience Aid that supplement Foundation Aid teachers who have who have training and seniority Beyond State averages earn more money as they should schools that have concentrations of highly trained and experienced teachers need additional assistance during the mid-1980s when Republicans control the House of Representatives, the training and experience formula was funded at approximately a hundred million dollars. The Democratic controlled legislature has reduced funding for that program to ten million dollars. I believe in the Excellence of education and I believe that excellence in education must adequately be financed. I will work to ensure that training and experience formulas are returned to their former levels of support. Finally as I noted, I will re emphasize education funding as the number one priority in the state budget. This is a Minnesota tradition. This is a republican tradition, which I wholeheartedly support and endorse education is changing our schools today are far different from when I graduated from Minneapolis West in 1963 the education my sixteen-year-old daughter receives it still water in Stillwater Public Schools is far different than what my one-year-old daughter Marianne who enjoy when it is her turn education is changing because the world we live in demands it as a nation 28 percent of our students do not graduate from high school while more than 90% of Minnesota students graduate from high school. Dr. Lester. Thurow dean of MIT Sloan School of Management has noted our graduation rate should be high because we don't require anything to graduate the standards for graduation are much tougher in nearly all of the industrialized World The Rose also, Noted that in the 1950s. The American Workforce was the best educated in the world the rest of the world copied our education system, but up the intensity level now, they produce a superior product our school year roughly a hundred eighty days and not all of those are student contact. He's used to be the longest now. It is the shortest in the industrial world. We cannot afford to stand still we cannot afford more of the same and we cannot afford to ignore what the rest of the world is doing particularly because we are now going to have to compete in World Markets. We must do more my challenge to you today is to demand accountability of your peers through teacher testing of your work in our system through student testing and of people like me who seek to bring our ideas and Promises to government the next few years will be challenging ones. There will be many times. I hope when we will March shoulder-to-shoulder working for the future of our children. There will be other times when we will agree to disagree. And those times may cause stress and strain in our relationship, but my door will always be open to you as I stand before you to be considered for your endorsement. Let me conclude by saying this my vision of the future of Education in the state is important to me. I will not change my beliefs or redirect my vision to appease those who do not believe in my vision. I stand here today and I say this to you if you want a government or governor who will re Empower teachers to teach than endorse me as Governor. If you want a governor who will hold schools accountable for results and not just following rules than endorse me for governor. If you want a governor who will limit classroom sizes to 17 students that endorse me, if you want a governor who reformed education funding then endorse me, if you want a governor who require teachers to evaluate those in their profession and who will promote incentive pay for those teachers who Excel than endorse me as governor on the other. And if you do not seek a new vision for our state, if you do not seek added responsibility, if you do not seek education funding reform. If you do not wish to hold your profession accountable then do not endorse me. If you want a governor who will be strongly committed to working with teachers to revitalize Minnesota's a fine education system. Then I ask for your support. Thank you very much. (00:13:20) That was the independent Republican candidate for governor of Minnesota. John grunts F speaking to the endorsing Convention of the Minnesota Education Association. John grunts FN answered several questions from the teachers in the audience, which I will narrate for you. Now first. John grunts Seth was asked if he thinks administrative expenses can be reduced in the school's if there's too much bureaucracy and if he has some ideas from the private sector that might be helpful. (00:13:48) I very definitely see administrative costs as being too high and that may be a reflection of the fact that I come out of the private sector. I might just give you an example of what we experienced at Ecolab back in 1983. We found we were becoming less and less competitive in a world wide environment and we have to be the low-cost producer. In other words. We have to be able to produce a product at a very low cost and in order to be competitive on a worldwide basis. So we took a very hard look at our administrative expenses and decided they were way way way out of line and we went through some very drastic reductions at that time. We had about 4,000 employees and about 400 million dollars in sales. Today we have about one point four billion dollars in sales in about 15,000 employees. We look at those administrative expenses again this spring and they were lower than they were in 1983. My view Our obligation is to put the money behind the teachers and the classroom experience. You are the salesman in the saleswomen of the educational world. And that's where the dollars belong. I believe that we need a very thorough and full-blown re-examination of what we call General administrative expenses in the educational world to ensure that we radically forcing those dollars into the classroom. I do not believe we are now, I believe that a director is substantially larger percentage than necessary is going into Administration. (00:15:17) Next. John grunts. Seth was asked his views on Merit pay and teacher testing. He was also asked how teachers who work with disadvantaged or learning disabled students would be evaluated if teacher evaluation is based on student (00:15:30) achievement. First I do not support Merit pay I do support incentive pay Merit pay is subjective as you know, and I think it's impossible to administer. But what I'd like to see us do as a society is say to every school district in the state and administrators are included in this that if you move the test scores and your district from A to B, they'll be a bonus of X, you moving from a to G. They'll be a bonus of XX but incentive driven and outcome-based and that's the general direction that I'd like like to go in as to those of you who are working with students in the special education area or those that are disadvantaged and terribly sensitive that issue. I was a severe dyslexic as a child and had some extreme extreme difficulties. So that's an area that I'm very sensitive to these of e its protection and Obviously different forms of measurement are going to have to be used in that particular area where you're working with those that are (00:16:29) disadvantaged candidate. John Glenn. Seth was asked where he would find the money in the state budget to pay for education. And if he take money from other Health and Human Service programs for youth to pay for Education, he was asked if he'd propose an increase in all programs affecting the welfare of (00:16:46) children. What we need to do is look very hard at absolutely every dollar that is currently being utilized in education and go through a very thorough restructuring to make sure that those dollars are being appropriately utilized as I think most of you know, the average school district in Minnesota today Now controls only about 11% of its funding what I mean by that is that you have mandates rules regulations unfunded mandates a wide variety of criteria that you're subjected to and that you must you must follow. I think that we need to lift that burden off of teachers parents and and administrators Andre Empower them to look at how they utilize their local or their own budget to attain certain goals. What are those goals? Those goals are graduation standards testing in the sixth grade testing in the 10th grade refocus on the core programs of that nature vis-à-vis programs outside of the educational realm that assist or Disadvantaged children, I might note for example, we have 850 thousand kids in the state who are 12 or under about a hundred thousand of those kids are at risk, they come from very difficult socio-economic situations and only night are 19,000 those hundred thousand are receiving any form of day carry today. I favor actually expanding that Aid in that particular area because I think the proper socialization of students before or kids before they enter the classroom is extremely important if they don't have the skills when they enter kindergarten to the first grade to interact socially they're at an extreme disadvantage from day one (00:18:26) gubernatorial candidate John Glenn Seth speaking at the Minnesota Education Association and endorsing convention and little bit. We'll hear from income and dfl Governor Rudy perpich. Next question for John Grand Seth wondering about his position on tuition tax credits or vouchers and also so-called charter (00:18:44) schools. I believe in non-sectarian experimental vouchers and I believe in experimenting with Charter Bay Schools Governor. Tommy Thompson, Wisconsin is undertaken this effort in Milwaukee as I think most of you know, when the black community in Milwaukee became distraught over the quality of education and they are now experimenting with a non-sectarian voucher their the Minnesota Citizens League in the Star Tribune of both called for the experimentation of Charter based schools. I think we ought to give it a try and I don't think your profession ought to back away from this Derby threatened by this or be afraid of this by any means, I think that it very well may open up vast new opportunities for teachers. I think it may even open up opportunities for teachers to establish their own schools if you will, so it's not something that I think you should necessarily be be afraid of or have an adverse reaction to right off the bat. (00:19:40) A teacher at the meeting wanted to know grunts Seth views on teacher retirement programs saying he had heard that grunts Seth was more interested in helping teachers make a career change rather than offering more retirement benefits. (00:19:54) Let me just in general comment on compensation and retirement benefits. I'm not one of those that will try and short trip to any profession when it comes to compensation or retirement benefits. I believe in this is a reflection of my own experience in the private sector that the way you attract the best people and you keep the best people as you maintain a competitive posture when it comes to compensation and retirement benefits, in other words, I think that we need to be at the 75th or 80th percentile vis-à-vis the rest of the nation in other words. I very strongly favored the competitive posture in that area. (00:20:32) John Glenn Seth was asked how he could propose an increase in state funding of Education when he also says the state is facing a 1 billion. Not our deficit and he doesn't want to raise (00:20:42) taxes. Let's just take a moment and recap The Dilemma that we are going to find ourselves. And in the next biennium when we're looking at about a billion dollar Revenue shortfall, by the way. This number is a number that most experts now agree upon the governor's former commissioner Finance time triplet who now heads the Minnesota Business Partnership agrees upon this number the dfl Senate caucus in the legislature agrees that it's in the six seven hundred million dollar range and that's an old number before we are faced with the prospects of a recession or a downturn in the economy. But you have to remember is that the cover a billion dollar Revenue shortfall. Remember we're constitutionally required to balance our budget in the state. We don't have any any options. So we either have to do it by holding the line on spending or spending reductions or increasing taxes, but the cover that shortfall would require $335 tax increase for every Minnesotan that money just He does not exist. It is an out there. We're already the second or third highest tax people in the land. The only thing that separates us from the number one tax people in the country is $37.50. And those are the folks in New York. So it's a number that is very very difficult to attain. I have proposed about 200 million dollars in various spending increases now, it's important to remember that that comes out of a budget for the next biennium that will be in excess of 15 billion dollars. So as a percentage of the budget is a relatively very very small number and I am extremely confident that we can find that money through the elimination of expenditures in the variety of different other different areas. There are a number of programs that we can all think of that varies from the need to be Revisited. Whether it's the World Trade Center the Department of Economic Development, which in my view doesn't generate much in the way of anything. We spend 40 million dollars a year and it or iron world or whatever the case might be anything. There were subsidizing. I'm quite confident that we can find the money to cover those increases (00:22:46) the final question to IR candidate John Glenn Seth was about his views on student testing the questioner quoted an educational Journal that said 120 million student. S 2 given every year at a cost of 900 million dollars and the questionnaire wondered if Grand Theft Auto we should be doing even more student (00:23:05) testing. Very much. So I feel very strongly about testing in the 6th and 10th grade. Those are two key points as you all know because that allows us to make the mid-course correction before student goes in the junior or Senior High (00:23:21) dwelling on the graduation rate is the absolute last thing we ought to be talking about (00:23:26) we need to make sure that they know something when they graduate and so graduation standards and testing is really where the emphasis belongs. (00:23:38) Each candidate was given the opportunity to make some short closing remarks and here now is what John grunts if had to say at the end of his (00:23:46) presentation. Once again, once again, I'm delighted to have the opportunity to be with you. I don't know we may have a third opportunity you never know about but am delighted to be with you as I indicated to you the first time we met I want you to view me as being user friendly and I want you to view me as being a good listener. I know we're not going to agree on everything. I think that's fairly apparent. But I think that we are both agreed on on one thing. We both want excellence in education. We're both committed to the children of Minnesota. We may have a different road map in terms of how we plan to get there. But I think we share that General commitment and I'm absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to be back again. Thank you very much (00:24:31) independent Republican gubernatorial candidate. John grunts Seth who spoke two weeks ago at the endorsing. Of the Minnesota Education Association, the next speaker is dfl incumbent Governor Rudy perpich and will hear his speech to the mea convention next. (00:24:49) Thank you very much. I'm very happy to be here. I forgot that I wasn't dentist until that was just mentioned. For a number of years and I didn't have to be tested all the years. I was a dentist by the way. I want to thank you for the opportunity to meet with you this morning today. I want to discuss with you our education record during the past eight years a record and I say our record because education isn't just a business of the governor or the legislature teachers our parents. It's our business and our past and future success is a result of all of us working together. Minnesota Minnesota is educational system, which I think is the best in the nation. If not, it's fast becoming the best animation. I don't know of any other state that's really better and Minnesota course and our whole system. We're not afraid of change. In fact lead the nation in new ideas and new Innovations. Our change is a change for the better what you're doing is working and we can all be very very proud of that. Our 91% High School. Graduation rate is you're well aware is the best in the nation. We hope in 1996 to have a 96 percent completion rate the president I States President Reagan before President Bush talked about a 90 percent completion rate by the year 2000. Our when you compare our completion rate with that of say California, which is at 60% and I think Florida is a 59% are 89% postgraduate participation within 6 years, all the graduates from high schools. Go on to post-secondary institution within six years. Which again is when the best in the country where the leader in the Roman options in providing a student's appearance with new educational opportunities President Bush has called it the single most promising idea in education reform while 20 States now have initiated that program our early childhood family education programs a national model over 150,000 participated in that program. It has good support in the community. It has good support in the legislature. And of course, we are one of the few states in the union when the first to fund Head Start when the most successful Federal programs, we have we ranked 4th in the nation on ACT scores and this year our SAT scores went up 10 points in math and three points in verbal skills. Well the scores and the rest of the nation declined we passed the first major School Technology built in the nation. And today we have one computer for every 16 students and we intend to improve on that considerably in the next three and four years. Our foreign language enrollment has increased almost threefold in eight years and today nearly 30% 38% of Minnesota students take foreign languages and the number of students taking advanced placement exams has doubled in the last five years. In our post-secondary institutions are adopting or adapting to the needs of their students providing programs, like child care assistance to needy students and new childcare facilities on campus. I believe about 22 or 23 of our technical colleges now have childcare facilities we intend to go back to the legislature 1991 and make sure within two years that each and every one of those technical colleges do have childcare facilities. The list of accomplishments goes on and on education is a reason that we are creating 50,000 jobs a year in Minnesota and education is reason our Workforce is by far the most productive in the nation. I could go on for half an hour just on the number of times or different CEOs of various organizations. CEO of corporations in Minnesota have told me of why they're expanding in Minnesota. It's because of that Workforce and John Akers was the CEO of IBM at least a recent meeting told other CEOs. Wish you could clone that plant to Rochester the best plant they have anywhere in the world and Minnesota is literally the Envy of the nation because Minnesota has made education is first second and third priority and I'm proud of our state's education success and proud of our support of you are teachers which is of course, you are the backbone of our educational system and look at our record the entire record and you will see a long-standing commitment to education's at times we've disagreed that's only natural, but more often than not we have worked together to continue to improve the quality of our schools and education funding is one such example. I know one of the problems we encountered was the initial recommendation that we made the 1989 legislative session where the 1.6 percent increase but you understand the legislative process. It's long and it's fluid. I have a very very difficult job as Governor. I'm have to also All take into consideration those that are less fortunate when the Head Start program gets dropped nine million dollars, I in fact I asked for 20 million dollars in that budget. I believe that that's a part of our educational effort. Also when they docked drop catastrophic health insurance the fact that we have 75,000 youngsters that have no coverage at all again that has to be taken to consideration and because of the pressures that occur on society whatever I recommend in the Human Service department for Human Service part of the budget, that's that's the ceiling. It doesn't go any higher it comes down from there. And what I recommend for education is this is the floor and it comes up from there because that's all the internal politics of the legislative session works. And the fact is that it has happened since I've been Governor that from that January date until May there's always more revenues coming in that are projected those revenues go automatically into education. And secondly the easiest way you can have all the hearings but the way you pump up What'd you do with the dollars that you have as you put the budget together in May was directly into the formula and that of course is the easiest part as far as the hearings any hearings that you have to have. We ended up with three and four percent funding increases for 91 92 and provide a school districts with new Levy Authority. So overall for the biennium was a 12% at their if you look at the record in 1984, the budget was increased 11% 85 6 percent eighty six nine percent eighty seven seven a half percent eighty eight 6.5 and in 1989 5% it took Minnesota 125 years to get to the first billion K12. We were estate in 1858 the 1983. We had the first billion dollar budget K12 in the eight years that have been Governor we more than double that it's not 2.2 billion and went from 21 percent of our budget to 26 percent of our total budget the rest of the budget we've squeezed and squeezed. Heard so we'd have more money for Education when I was governor 7778. I had 55 on staff today. We have 35 and we have much more work to do because of the what's happening on a federal level pushing to this for the state. We ranked 45th 246. The number of people we employ in a per capita basis and that again is a part of this process of squeezing as much as possible. So we have more money for Education the level of support K12 is unmatched in the history of the state and its or by any other governor in the nation. No one can ever question the value I placed on education. I learned early what education means Education was my passport out of poverty. It was the not just for me and my brothers but it was for literally thousands like me in that period of time and my parents knew the importance of Education that if we were going to break out of that poverty cycle. It had to be because through a good educational system. They worked hard. We worked hard at our teachers. Of course, we're dedicated they worked with us and as a result we were able to do do well when I started school, I couldn't speak a word of English some of you may be upset that I did not intend 10 your first endorsement convention and frankly. I was concerned that the entire record would be looked at and only parts of their record to be looked at. I'm here today. I've been your friend. I am your friend and will continue to be your friend because we all share the knowledge. The education is the real key that opens the door not only for us and our children, but for the state as well quality education, It's jobs. And that is always been the heart and soul of this Administration and will continue to be the Cornerstone of our future I have stood at you on retirement legislation and help break the Log Jam for the role for the rule of 90 we need to do more and we will at your last convention you endorsed Arne Carlson and irony and I share many of the same values when it comes to education. I respect him and it would have been a positive race a good race for the people of Minnesota, but our knee is out the choice for our children and our schools is now very clear of record a building a public education system. That is the Envy of the nation and let me close by discussing our priorities first. I support increased funding for education at all levels and I hope later on during The Question period question answer period I can dwell for a few minutes why I feel that I can do the job to get the funding that's necessary second. I will continue to encourage greater. Parent and Community Partnership with our teachers to better ensure success third. I will actively support early childhood education and other prevention programs to better prepare our children for School fourth. I will continue to build on our program of site-based management and real teacher involvement in decision making at the building and District level fifth will push ahead in the use of technology and staff development important tools for teachers will also make sure that there's a telephone in every room in every classroom. I called I was putting together the math and science group and then I had to and I was calling people in various professions and the public and I then had to call teachers and it was like calling Bangladesh because it's almost impossible to be in contact with them. Sixth I'll be proposing legislation to deal with our school facilities problem. We went in this legislative session 20 some million dollars for that program. We have more needs considerably more needs while over 200 million dollars will be making our recommendations and for the 1991 session. So again, we can take apart and money that goes for Mortar and brick will give you more Opera of these school districts more room for operating levies seventh. I'll be preparing legislation to deal with the recommendation of the governor's task force a math science International Education and Technology. You're well aware of the task force on human resources Bob a strip, of course is on that committee. I've always talked we want to run state government same as the private sector we getting recognition for the management. But I also believe that we have to deal with people the public employees in this and the same in the same way and again, So we'll speech and if separate speech it takes some time, but when people are 48 and 50 years of age in the school because of consolidations or closing and or because of dropping enrollments there has to be a plan in there. And then of course you're well aware when I came back in 83 my support of the rule of 85. I've always supported that we went for 90 because the 85 wasn't attainable. I believe that 1991-92 there will be attainable and I'll be supporting the rule of 85. Our children must leave our schools with the best education Nation. Well prepared to compete against graduates from any other state in the nation with Incredible changes around the world and the opening of new international markets. We must concentrate now more than ever before. I'm preparing our students for new technologies and foreign cultures and languages. This is a challenge of tomorrow and the working together. We must we have made Minnesota the national standard of Excellence working together will make Minnesota education system the best in the world. Thank you very very much (00:37:34) Governor Rudy perpich speaking to the Minnesota Education Association. We heard his eye our Challenger John grunts Seth earlier in the hour both the candidates answered questions from the teachers in the audience. The first question to governor perpich was about Merit (00:37:49) pay. (00:37:50) Well, (00:37:51) I was on the Hibbing Board of Education some years back and I heard at that time (00:37:57) from board members who had been serving on that board (00:37:59) for many years. The many difficulties that result (00:38:03) in that incentive pay within the systems. (00:38:06) I believe that we (00:38:08) have resolved much of that as it's gone over the years (00:38:13) by the steps. And of (00:38:14) course the degrees be it the (00:38:17) master's degree or toward the doctorate degree. (00:38:20) Next Rudy perpich was asked about the equalization of school levy referenda and whether he had a plan to correct the imbalance in property valuations around the state. (00:38:32) Okay, we course recommended that to 1987 legislative session we intend to do that again in 1991. I think we took a step in that direction in the facilities bill because the communities that have very low property valuations that literally didn't have the dollars for the mortar. Rick, you know, we ended up with 20 some million dollars in this session we intend as I (00:38:55) said the said earlier to improve on that in the next legislative (00:38:59) sessions and third that again will come 1991 that we have some Equalization in those (00:39:07) woods those school districts. They just don't have the you know the property value (00:39:13) and as a result have a very difficult time in passing any of (00:39:17) the special levees that are required. So (00:39:20) we'll try to build that in in the 91 session what we try to do that in 87. Well, we work through commissioner Nelson and you know, he's they're almost full-time with (00:39:30) the with the legislators. So there will be a concerted (00:39:33) effort (00:39:35) for that legislation. (00:39:37) Governor purpose was then asked his position on teacher bargaining on educational policy issues not just money and what he would do to improve teacher involvement in education (00:39:47) policy. There are some districts obviously that are having problems in that area with policy again. I feel that that can be worked out. We have asked, you know, the Bureau of mediation services. In fact, we just had a they just had a kind of a convention or a meeting working between labor and management. I think a lot of that can be worked out without being forced from the state of Minnesota. I still believe that they give and take that you can work it out. I'm sorry. I know what you'd like your like a change in the lon. (00:40:31) Well, the next teacher asserted that Minnesota teacher salaries have dropped in national rankings. The class sizes have increased programs have been cut and money is tight you wanted to know if Governor purpose would ask the legislature for the amount of money. He actually thinks is needed for Education. Not just take what's left over in the budget negotiations. The question are also wanted to know if Governor perpich would raise taxes (00:40:57) as Governor you have these Not the man's I shouldn't say but the needs of society and I have to go into a session knowing the psychology, I guess and the experience I've had in the legislative process. I would have to go back and again check what I've received from Department occation differs with what you have obviously as far as inflation, I've been told that we are considerably over (00:41:30) inflation over the a period (00:41:32) in the last two years. I'd have to take a look at what the inflation is and what the increases were you might be right for this for this particular for this year. When you have 106 million dollars is shifted from the feds to the state. The programs are coming the money's not coming with it. I have to find money in that budget for those programs. We certainly can't allow 65 or 70 thousand children. To be without any coverage at all. I mean if they need glasses or the teeth need to be taken care of or they have sore throats. What have you the parents don't take them to get the necessary care. We have to be responsible for that same thing when they dropped catastrophic health insurance is 15 and a half million dollars that we had to squeeze out our budget for that purpose. (00:42:20) So again, I believe (00:42:22) that the route that we have to go is the create the jobs as we have in the past seven and a half years to get the revenue so that we can do it if the Instructions to our commissioners and they're in the process right now of putting the budget together for next year if they're instructions are squeezed everywhere so that we have the dollars for education. I don't think you can give better direction or a focus to Administration than that education is the first second and third priority. I'm not you know some superhuman that can find money and just say I want X number of dollars to come out of the sky. I work very long hours at my job. I used to be in a canoe twice a week. I'm going to get in the canoe. Once this year. I see a Cross Country Skis quite often every winter. I haven't been on cross-country ski, since I've been Governor, I work Round the Clock because I know my job as Governor to make sure that every person wants a job has a job in Minnesota. That's the that's the way you Any problems we have if the revenue is not there. I don't care whose Governor you're not going to be able to fund the programs. And this is why I work so hard to create the jobs that are necessary and why I believe with my experience International Trade, we have to develop this International markets. We have saturated as far in the region as far as how much more jobs can be created created the jobs have to be created in expanding and international markets (00:44:03) governor perpich was then asked about vouchers and state support of private schools. (00:44:09) Let me first the where we are in a line that's being blurred and that is where you have students that have dropped out of school. I'm you know in there nationally, I think it's 80% of those that are incarcerated are dropouts Minnesota. It's about 60-some percent and I believe that once someone drops out. We're looking at Future problems that will cost us much much more conscious now. A sort of $24,000 for every person that's in the in our Correctional Facilities most the people that are Human Service roles in our drop off from school. So I believe that a student that has dropped out and this is happening in Minnesota to certain extent no one knows what the reason is. Maybe the family can be the environment can be their school friends could be teachers Administration when doesn't know but they do drop out and I believe we got to get them back in so that they could have an entry at see a non-sectarian that they can come in back into the system. I support that but other than that no, I'm opposed to vultures (00:45:14) coming to really perfect who was speaking at the Minnesota Education Association endorsing convention was then asked to explain his views on teacher testing. (00:45:24) Well, I mentioned earlier because I thought of it when I was introduced as I sometimes forget. I was a dentist. I've been away from it for a little while, but we don't test Dennis. We don't test lawyers. We don't trust doctors and The system is the same for all as you enter know. I'm opposed to the testing and let me tell you I you know, when I saw what happened to the steel industry as an example when I came back from Europe. I thought to myself if anyone should be tested to CEOs of the steel companies what happened to that (00:45:53) industry. (00:45:57) Seriously, they didn't modernize the new technologies was obvious what was happening in other parts of the world. I recognized as soon as I moved over to Vienna couple years before it really happened. No, I know that. We have the refresher courses and like we do in dentistry and and the other professions I think teaching should be on par with all the other professions. Don't test the rest. Why should we touch test teachers (00:46:22) and finally here are Governor purposes closing remarks to the Minnesota Education Association meeting (00:46:28) Well my whole life and it goes back when I came back to Hibbing Minnesota as a dentist when the first things I did of course was become a candidate and was elected to the Board of Education. We the first comparable worth I guess in the nation happened at Hibbing Minnesota when I was there and you could talk to any of those teachers those people on the staff at Hibbing who was their best friend on that board of education. I I became a candidate for the state senate because I didn't agree with the policy and education. That was my whole campaign and the same is true as Governor. I took the oath of office as you're well aware and him being high school. Probably the only Governor United States that ever took an oath of office on the on the same stage, you know, they're of the high school to speeches that I made State of the State again. First time in the history of the state that a state of state was made away from the Capital One. Was that a Take University system two years later at a high school. My whole life has been dedicated to education when I came back in 1983. I said, we no longer need strong backs and Nimble fingers because we can't compete we can't compete with eastasia. You've been there you see how they work and for the wages they work. I said all those jobs are going to leave. It's only brain power that's going to succeed and I believe the policies of the eight years. I've really had never really been a successful because of this focus on education. All of our efforts have been on education. As I said earlier. We are now 45 to 46 and number of state employees we have on a per capita basis and that is because we've squeezed and squeezed to have a dollars for Education again. I have 55 people on staff when I was governor 77 78 today. We have 35 January 1st. I have 37 the cutbacks occurred. We didn't touch K12. We remove two more people from my own staff. I am an education governor and I'm recognized both Within. State and nationally and a poll that I don't know. I'm the only one doesn't believe in polls. But let me tell you what the poll said the people in Minnesota. I always thought that they had they associate me with jobs. What they associate me with is education. Thank you very much. (00:48:44) That was Minnesota Governor Rudy perpich speaking two weeks ago to the endorsing Convention of the Minnesota Education Association, by the way, just to remind you the mea did indeed give its endorsement to perfect his independent Republican Challenger. John grunts F spoke first and you heard his speech and the question and answer session with him earlier in the hour. Well on the topic of Education here many small towns school districts face some very big problems losing kids through the Open Enrollment program and post-secondary options or simply through attrition, but some small schools are doing very well. They're offering specialized programs and curricula for their own kids and for students from outside their immediate area, too. For example in the Red River Valley area the state's first High School geared specifically toward Global Studies has opened its doors laughs anger of Main Street radio reports the Red Lake Falls High School football squad runs through its drills on a chilly grey afternoon in the complicated scheme of handoffs and blocks one guy seems to be getting the football a lot driving into the line making yardage stopping when the defense lays hands on him and the whistle blows. As it turns out this player is getting so much practice because he is just learning American football. He is 18 years old and finish. His name is veal Evita. (00:50:16) It's hard to pronounce for you guys, but they call me Bailey or (00:50:19) whatever Vita is one of the 47 new kids in Red Lake Falls here to take classes and trade culture glimpses with real middle western Americans and students from 13 other countries. It's been challenging so far. He says nothing's been a pushover not the language courses not small town life after his City Home in Finland and certainly not football. It's fun, but (00:50:42) it's hard really really hard-hitting getting hit. But I like it though. It's kind of fun to try to go through the line. That's really challenging (00:50:53) the presence of bellavita, 46 other foreign students and 34 and teachers has changed a lot in this Red River Valley High School of 300 students. You see every color in the hallways and here Snippets of a dozen languages just a year ago. This was simply the Red Lake Falls High School District in debt and dreading the impact of open enrollment. Now, it's the Global Studies Institute with a dorm full of kids from all over and a courtyard of flags like a small United Nations superintendent rust sethrie. (00:51:23) One of the things we looked at was the state agenda in education (00:51:27) and we saw that the one area that the state and in particular Governor Ruby Rudy perpich has had on his agenda for some time but had not really been addressed was the area of Global (00:51:39) Studies. The lights went on. Ah, Global Studies International (00:51:42) students. We have a place for him here in Red Lake Falls (00:51:46) the Behind the plan set 3 says was not purely educational idealism, but also a realistic vision of where this small District was heading Thief River Falls and Crookston are close by to the north and west with their larger district and post-secondary schools. Principal. Bob bester says the school needed to do something noteworthy to keep its own kids and attract others. We thought if we could make this a singular situation and make us the magnet school for Global Studies in Northwestern Minnesota. We then would have a reason for being in our own identity and could possibly attract students through open enrollment and even bring the college students in from each side of us because each of them is limited language was and that was part of our planning and part of our justification and part of our Dream the Dream as bester in Seth replanted went like this. They would get hold of the city's vacant Hospital building renovated into housing devised a curriculum centering on world languages and cultures and bring in as wide a field of foreign students as they could the process has gone quickly in part because the city was willing to help selling the building to the district for a dollar providing a $50,000 Grant and $100,000 loan. Just a year later the dream appears to be on track as a young person growing up. You have to find ways of meeting. People who are very different from yourself and kind of feel those out. I mean it is it true that not all black people are exactly alike. You don't really know that for sure until you meet people and test those things out Ruth and Olsen is a Twin Cities education consultant whose focus is Multicultural education. She says there is an unprecedented push now toward quote celebrating diversity in schools, but says not every such program works as it should on the one hand I think celebration is important on the other hand. Celebrate celebration in and of itself. If it doesn't go beyond that pretends that it's very easy, and it's very exciting. And frankly the issues of diversity are issues that require a lot of very hard work but Red Lake Falls administrators say they're ready for hard work work that will go beyond a skimmed textbook approach. The curriculum is designed to take students through four full years of Foreign Studies. The heavy emphasis is on languages students can major in Spanish German French or Russian by graduation bester says students in the program will be by or trilingual. They'll have a good general knowledge of the Arts sciences and World Geography many will have spent Summers abroad the foreign students. He says provide cross-cultural friendships the foreign teachers living speaking examples above all it broadens the mind, you know, Mauricio Novoa Delgado just recently arrived in Red Lake Falls from his home in Mexico City says his job is a little like a mission to him. He teaches Spanish, but also knows French and studies German in his off hours. He says what he tries to get across to all of his students is that knowing other languages and cultures has never been as important as it is today all they were all has how to say I'm Mutual interaction, you know something that happens right now and in the Persian Gulf, it's affecting us to us right now. So you see it's very important to get right communication to have a common point of view and probably if we can get to understand each other each other, that would be much better. Red Lake Falls Spanish teacher Mauricio, Novoa Delgado with John B 1 this is life. Anchor