Skip to Content
Political Agenda

Rep. Greiling, education advocate, lambastes comments from head of teachers' union

By Doug Grow | 03/20/09

How tough is the state budget crisis?

So tough that two usual allies -- the DFL and Education Minnesota, the teachers’ union --  are at big-time odds.

In a message to some of her Minnesota House colleagues late this afternoon, Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, the chair of the House K-12 education finance committee, blistered Tom Dooher, president of Education Minnesota, for his criticism of the House K-12 funding plan.

Wrote Greilling: “I am just incensed, as I’m sure you are, about the public statements made by ED MN President Tom Dooher about our House DFL education plan. Despite extreme angst about other budget cuts, many of our members, certainly including me, fought mightily to make our budget prioritize education. ... Does he not realize we are facing a $7.5 billion deficit, counting inflation, and that it was an amazing feat for us to still hold education harmless when we put forward a serious budget, unlike the Governor??!!’’

Greiling was referring to comments Dooher made to the media and posted on Education Minnesota’s website.

Dooher was critical of the House plan, which he says calls for “flat education funding’’ for the next four years. In the statement, Education Minnesota noted that the House plan differs from the Senate plan, which calls for a 7 percent reduction in K-12 education funding, and the plan forwarded by Gov. Tim Pawlenty that proposes “a modest K-12 funding increase, but mostly for Q Comp and test score improvement.’’

“Adusting for inflation, this (House) budget could result in kids getting less individual attention and fewer opportunities for learning over the next four years,’’ Dooher was quoted as saying on the website. “Coming on top of the cuts most districts are facing, this proposal is not helpful.”

Comments (9)

Submitted by Tom Anderson on March 20, 2009 - 11:16pm.

Might have to agree with Mr. Dooher on this one. Over the last six years while spending on K-12 has increased, the Governor has been ripped for making "cuts" to education. It follows therefore that the DFL House plan of "flat funding" must then be termed as cuts something more than "Draconian" which is reserved for the Governor's proposals.

Submitted by Hiram Foster on March 21, 2009 - 8:52pm.

Was Mindy expecting Dooher to be thrilled. It isn't the job of advocates to make the lives of our legislators easier. It's the job of advocates to fight for the people they represent.

Submitted by Julie Blaha on March 22, 2009 - 6:14pm.

I'd like to see the kind of anger and gutsiness Democrats are throwing at Dooher sent Pawlenty's way. Maybe if they were talking this tough to the Governor, groups like Education Minnesota wouldn't be so concerned.

Submitted by Ryan Stai on March 23, 2009 - 8:13am.

You know what I'm incensed about? Hypocrisy. Before the session, Greilling held a statewide tour to change the education funding formula so that additional funds would be available for education. Now, she criticizes EM for criticizing a zero-increase plan? I'm sorry, Rep. Greilling, but it's hard to be credible when you talk out of both sides of your mouth.

Sadly, the Governor has the best education-funding plan of the three. I'm sure that pleases those DFLers who were recently elected in the suburbs on the platform of education. Talking about handing a bone to suburban Republicans. But maybe Sen. Pogemiller and Speaker Anderson Kelliher want smaller majorities?

Submitted by Thomas Swift on March 23, 2009 - 10:39am.

I take issue with describing Greiling as an education advocate; she is a union advocate.

And she should take that as a compliment, because if her focus was education, she would by any measure, have to reconcile a record of near complete failure. But as a reliable mule for Education Minnesota she sets the standard, which is what makes this story so unique.

Education Minnesota is in the business of building their political and financial power, as well as maintaining their de facto control over the public school system…the students fit into their agenda only as a means to an end. Through her normally unwavering support of the union, the same can be said for Greiling.

One is hard pressed to conclude which facet of this spat is the more compelling. The crass public display of self interest of the teachers union or the outrage Greiling was forced to feign.

Submitted by Andrew Kearney on March 23, 2009 - 11:48am.

Greiling is right. Dooher should know that this is a game and he is playing on the Governor's side now. The Republicans want to throw the poor under the bus and are using "increased" education funding as a taunt to the DFL. Do teachers really want to get raises so much that they will live with 113,000 people getting booted off of health care to pay for it? Dooher should know that teachers are the next to be thrown under the bus. Niehbor comes to mind: "they came and took the Jews away, when will they come for me?" If we lose suburban votes over this just wait teachers to see what will happen to you next with a Republican majority. Remember Republicans want to destroy public education as we know it. Dooher is playing a dangerous game. Education Minnesota had its chance to shut down the state in strikes in 2003 when this Republican nonsense started and they did not. Dooher represents the view that "we are not going to take it anymore". But at what cost? Marx was right-our masters now have the lower orders quarreling with each other. Dooher and Greiling are the spokesmen for this.

Submitted by Bernice Vetsch on March 23, 2009 - 12:39pm.

And let's not forget that the "increase" the governor wants to give education is earmarked to fund his anti-worker plan to pay some teachers at higher salaries than others, thus creating dissension within the union and weakening it.

His plan is akin to the No Child Left Behind policy of punishing with funding cuts those schools that don't do as well as others (according to test scores) instead of increasing their funding in order to help them improve their schools.

Submitted by Thomas Swift on March 23, 2009 - 4:04pm.

I have to say, sincerely, that I appreciate the fact that the defenders of the status quo, here and elsewhere, have finally, thankfully, stopped hiding behind "the children".

Since they are never thought of, or mentioned at any other time, I always found it quite nauseating when kids were trotted out to hold signs bearing smarmy slogans every legislative season or whenever contract negotiations were not rubber stamp affairs.

If the public school system is ever to improve, it's essential that this issue be framed properly. This is, and always has been, a battle between a blue collar trade labor union and its leftist allies versus those that are concerned about the ever deteriorating place that academic achievement is clinging to in the schools.

It is my sincere hope that someday teachers reclaim the respect to which their profession entitled them, before they were reduced to little more than desk sitting widget drillers appreciated for little more than their value in a picket line.

There will come a day when people wake up and remember that once upon a time, the public created and supported the idea of a public school system to ensure that all kids had access to a quality academic education.

We will wonder how it passed, then, that the grand idea was bent and twisted to the notion that the schools were in business to provide a trade labor union with high paying jobs to lord over and that the true stakeholders, parents and students, would be left standing on the sidelines with their pockets turned out and little to nothing to show for it.

In the meantime, I suppose we all should be glad that at the very least, the smoke is clearing and the “battle lines” are becoming precisely defined.

Submitted by joe musich on March 23, 2009 - 10:06pm.

Again the Gov is winning the hand of devisive politics. And the people are fighting one another over the few bananas. Who will bring unity to give voice to the people ? No one in the DFL seems to have the strengh or the foresight. I wish someone did. Either taxes get raised or we all go down.