Wiger Fights Teacher Pay Freeze, Alternative Licensure

As former chair of the Minnesota Senate’s Education Committee, Sen. Chuck Wiger has strong views on some of the education-related issues that have made it to the Senate floor in the past two weeks.

Although Wiger had introduced his own legislation providing an alternative pathway into the K-12 teaching profession, he did not support the alternative licensure legislation that passed in the Senate Feb. 3.

Wiger (DFL-District 55), of Maplewood, said he thought the bill’s requirements for teachers who don’t follow the traditional route into the profession weren’t stringent enough.

There is no minimum grade point average requirement, nor any requirement that the teacher’s college major be related to the subject he or she is teaching, he said.

“If you’re going to be a math teacher, it would be good if you majored in math,” he said.

Wiger also voted against a teacher pay freeze, which passed in the Senate Thursday, Feb. 10, because he said he thinks teacher pay should be left up to local school boards. That bill also eliminated a $3 per-student set-aside that goes to pay for counselors, social workers, psychologists, school nurses and others, he said.

“We ranked 49^th out of 50 in terms of school counselors (in the United States),” he said. “This will put us in a situation of having the worst ratio of school counselors in the United States of America,” he said.

Here’s what’s happened this past week with other bills authored or co-authored by your legislators:

Rep. Nora Slawik—Co-sponsored a bill amending the definition of income within the child care assistance program. HF373,  introduced Feb. 7.

Rep. Nora Slawik—Co-sponsored a bill appropriating $200,000 each year for the next two years toward workforce development for youth re-entering the community after being in the juvenile justice system and at-risk youth. HF 372, introduced Feb. 7.

Rep. Nora Slawik—Co-sponsored a bill that would ask voters if they want to amend the state constitution to state that it is the Legislature’s responsibility to provide for the education of children through age 5. HF 365, introduced Feb. 7.

Sen. Chuck Wiger—Introduced a bill that would require teens under 18 to attend school to get a learner’s permit or driver’s license. SF255, introduced Feb. 7.

Sen. Chuck Wiger—Co-sponsored a bill that would modify the school funding system. SF269, introduced Feb. 9.

Sen. Chuck Wiger—Introduced a bill that would establish remedies and a lien for mobile home park owners when a home is abandoned. SF296, introduced Feb. 10.

Sen. Chuck Wiger—Co-sponsored a bill that would remove the five-year limit on service for limited English proficiency funding. SF285, introduced Feb. 10.

Sen. Chuck Wiger—Co-sponsored a bill that would amend the restrictions on charter school authorizers. SF334, introduced Feb. 14.

Editor's Note: Capitol Review is a weekly look at what your state legislators are doing at the Minnesota Capitol—how they're voting, the bills they're writing and the issues they're getting behind. Come back to Oakdale Patch every Monday for a new Capitol Review.