Liberal in the Land of Conservative

The problems with our health care system vary depending on who you talk to. To the small business owners the problem is the rising cost which is greatly out-pacing inflation. My employer saw a large increase in her premiums this year and so she had to increase the amount I pay for my family coverage by 24%. If you're a Union worker you have seen your benefits decrease or your wages threatened to maintain your health coverage because your employer is feeling the pinch of out of control health care cost. Employees in general are worried about losing coverage should they become unemployed. If you're a health care provider you are frustrated by the bureaucracy and administrative cost that is required to collect payment from insurers. And if you're one of the 400,00 Minnesotans (80,000 kids alone) without health insurance, you're just one illness or injury away from financial ruin.

The easiest thing we can do is cut back on the administrative cost by standardizing reimbursement requirements for health care providers. This will lower the cost of both insurance and health care. There are a lot of good and bad plans out there but one thing is for certain, we cannot afford to continue to ignore this problem.

If the current trends continue we may very well find ourselves in a position where single payer is the only option left. I am open to all suggestions except for doing nothing and ignoring the problem.

My opponents have fought for years to maintain the status quo; both of them have had government paid insurance available. That insurance is probably some of the best coverage out there, so they have no problems with the current system. In a few years Ms. Kiffmeyer will be covered by a single payer health care system run by the government called Medicare. Representative Olson has had access to taxpayer provided health insurance for 16 years now. Yet both will fight hard to make sure the rest of us make due with something less. We need better thinking on this subject than the two of them provide.

Fair and adequate funding, early childhood education opportunities, parental involvement, and teachers committed to students all contribute to our prominence in education. Unfunded mandates eat away at school budgets resulting in larger class sizes which has caused us to slip in national rankings. Now more than ever we need political leadership, not partisanship, to help educated students. I will work for Minnesota students to ensure that their educational needs are met so they can reach their potential.

Taxpayers will not tolerate wasteful spending in our schools and neither will I. Simply throwing money at a problem is not the answer but at the same time we must adequately fund education so our kids are prepared to compete in a world economy in the 21st century. Results of Minnesota’s educational investments are seen by the presence of world-class companies based here. I will work to make sure Minnesota is where business wants in the future because of our quality workforce.

We can provide both the funding schools need and demand accountability at the same time. The Minnesota Miracle of the 1970’s showed us that Republicans and Democrats could set aside differences and set a common goal of funding quality public education. When partisanship was set aside all Minnesotans won. Now it’s our turn to do the same. We can rebuild the miracle and drive Minnesota education to new heights. I will work tirelessly and across party lines to support Minnesota education.

Communities understand their own educational needs. Local control makes sure the community is an active partner and driving force behind our schools. Parents be involved every step of the way as partners and leaders in education. The more information parents have the better decisions they can make when teaming with educators in the classroom.

Funding needs to be fair. Kids in Sherburne County deserve the same educational opportunities as kids living in Edina and Bloomington. We must provide good education even in tough economic times. Simply shifting funding to local property taxpayers is not leadership. It’s the job of the legislature to ensure good public education. As your representative I’ll do my job and work for our kids and schools.

Unfunded mandates placed on our schools need to be eliminated or fairly funded. If the federal government requires a mandate it should fund it too. We have to either fix and fund or forget No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Teachers, staff and school administrators have a job to do and they need to get fairly paid for doing those jobs well. Professional development opportunities keep raising the bar for educators. Let’s look at options that bring and retain the best teachers possible in classrooms.

Early childhood education gives us a measurable return on our investment and helps our kids hit the ground running as they enter grade school. Investments in early childhood give kids a sound foundation to build on throughout their academic years.

The role of higher education cannot be overstated. Today’s families are hit hard by tuition increases and students are carrying tremendous record high debt after graduating. I will work to slow tuition increases by partnering with higher education institutions for a common goal of help our students reach their potential.

The legislature’s job is to fund education fairly. Representative should gather the facts and listen to the needs of families, educators, students, and business leaders. Gathering the facts means setting aside partisanship, finding common ground, and working hard to solve problems. Many - if not most - of the best legislative solutions dealing with state problems in the past have been the result of good relationships between government and the citizens it serves. History does repeat itself and provide the framework for dealing with today’s challenges not just for education but for all public debate. That framework consists of trust, honest discussion, open-mindedness and getting the facts straight.

I believe the number one issue in Minnesota public education is the funding of our schools. In 2001, Mn lawmakers adopted a plan to fund K-12 where the quality of education would no longer be determined by the wealth of the school district. The state has not kept it's promise. Under Pawlenty, and my opponent Dan Severson, state aide for schools has dropped, forcing school districts to depend on voter approved property tax increases to pay for education. Under the "no new tax" pledge, the local school districts have had to shoulder the burden of raising our property taxes to pay for educating our children. In effect, schools districts have become the "taxman." I believe that the state should fund education in a way that the quality of education would not be determined by the wealth of the school district.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is another problem. It seems that students are learning more about taking tests than actually learning. This program increases costs and decreases the time that teachers are actually educating students. I would push for the elimination of this program entirely.

The Governors Teacher Quality Compensation Program pours money into a few districts in an effort to change how teachers are paid from years of experience and education levels to pay for the quality of their work. In theory this sounds great but in practice this is very complex. Many school districts have been denied the opportunity to get this money while other districts have sought ways to get the money and get around the compensation issues by paying teachers for extra in-service.

The legislature should set standards and goals and then get out of the way and let the teachers teach. Mandates stress the finances of school districts, create paperwork for teachers and administrators, and take away from the quality of education. As a legislator I would try to eliminate mandates and let the school districts make the decisions on how to reach the set standards and goals.

Parents play a key role in education. They need to be involved in the schools in the decision making of local policies. Parents need to work with their children early on to influence a life of reading and learning at home, not just at school. Parents need to be partners with the school in the education process.

Special education puts a big drain on the finances of the school districts. The federal government needs to pay its share of the special education mandates.