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Proposed Minn. teacher seniority rule changes not likely to have local effect

Fergus Falls teachers union representatives and school board members say proposed changes to the state rule that bases school district teacher layoffs on seniority would have a negligible effect locally.

One proposal offered by Republican legislators would end a state mandate that requires school districts to consider seniority when conducting layoffs.

School board member Melanie Cole said that, no matter what is decided by the legislature, District 544 administrators and school board members will continue to address teacher issues when concerns arise.

“If we have issues with longer-tenured teachers, or others, we address those issues right away,” said Cole. “This policy has worked well, with the school board, administrators, teachers and local union working together.”

Darrel Tungseth, District 544 School Board chairman, said it’s pretty much a wait and see as to what happens at the state legislature. Tungseth also serves as the school board’s legislative liaison.

“Possible changes in the seniority rule isn’t a topic that we on the school board have discussed at any length, so far,” he said.

Steve Olson, co-president of the Fergus Falls Education Association, said that administrators have always been able to terminate poor teachers. He also said he has concerns that removing seniority rules might prompt some school districts to base layoffs on salaries.

“Both tenure and ‘last in first out,’ which in my mind are two different things, are in place to protect good teachers from being terminated,” said Steve Olson, co-president of the Fergus Falls Education Association. “That’s because they have a higher salary during budget cut periods, or they advocate for what they see as best practices in their classroom.”

Education Minnesota, the statewide teachers union, said its members already are bending on this issue. The union points out that close to 40 percent of all Minnesota school districts have agreements with teachers’ unions that take in factors other than just seniority.

“My response has generally been to keep the best teachers in the classroom,” said State Rep. Bud Nornes, Fergus Falls. “That generally should mean the most experienced. However, newer and younger teachers may bring new enthusiasm and interest to the classroom.”

Nornes said his preference would be empowering school administration and school board members to make the best personnel decisions.

He said the bill to change teacher seniority rules will get a hearing in the House and Senate and likely pass as part of the reform agenda. Final action will be taken by Gov. Mark Dayton. Nornes predicts the governor would likely side with the union and veto the bill.

Some lawmakers of both parties believe an evaluation system should be in place before Minnesota moves away from seniority-based layoffs. The seniority provision, known as “last in, first out,” serves as the foundation for most union contracts.

This issue led to heated debate on Tuesday of this week during a legislative hearing in St. Paul. Minnesota has joined lawmakers in other states looking to make changes in the teacher seniority system.

Many teachers’ union leaders across the state maintain that changes in seniority rules, if too drastic, could result in the loss of many good and experienced teachers. Others, however, maintain that schools need to retain good teachers whether they’ve been there one year, 10 years or 30 years.

Last year, legislators in Minnesota approved establishment of a teacher evaluation process. It’s a work in progress. A task force is working out the details of the plan, including how to connect student and teacher performance.

Branden Petersen, Andover Republican who is a legislative leader in changing teacher seniority, said nothing would likely change until 2015, after evaluation work is completed.

Peter Eckhoff, president of the Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he’s worried about changes that would allow school administrators to arbitrarily pick and choose which teachers are let go in the event of a layoff.

Almost 80 percent of Minnesotans, in a recent survey, said they believe laying off teachers based solely on experience hurts the quality of education for students. The survey was conducted by the Minnesota Campaign for Achievement Now, an education advocacy group.