Proctor Journal

Lt. Governor Mae Schunk’s visit to Proctor High School started much better than it ended.

Schunk’s three-hour visit to Proctor was the second of three schools she was visiting Monday. She started in Hermantown and concluded her area visit in Wrenshall.

Along the way, she was inspired by the Proctor Construction Class and the DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) students. The success of those programs were tempered by a meeting before about 20 teachers, parents, administrators and students.

Gov. Jesse Ventura’s proposed school aid reductions ignited passions usually reserved for sporting events and school rivalries. While courteous, the 45-minute question and answer session was more like a public hearing.

Proctor educators Virgil Boehland, Laura Condon and Dave Hylla gave what amounted to State of Education addresses.

“Education is in the worst shape I’ve seen during 30 years of teaching,” Hylla said. “Education is almost in a crisis. I am seeing programs eliminated, while we are required to support unfunded mandates.”

Hylla, who is also President of Minnesota’s High School Coaches Association, added, “with tremendous cuts in athletics the total educational experiences for students are threatened.”

Boehland recalled how one of Ventura’s proposals to address the Minnesota teacher shortage was to relax the licensing standards and requirements for teachers. “How will lowering the standards and requirements increase teacher quality?” he asked.

“The Governor supports teachers and I remain loyal to him and support him,” Schunk replied.

Condon, who is also a school board member in Duluth, told Schunk, “I don’t agree that the Governor supports education. Mandated Special Education costs are draining districts.”

“Three out of five teachers are leaving the profession in the first five years for other jobs. How can we encourage young people to enter and stay in teaching?” she questioned.

Cindy Lundeen, a mother of three daughters at Proctor, told the Lt. Gov. that parents needed to have more input.

Britta Peterson, a PHS student, feared that because of cuts students would leave for other schools with more opportunities. “What’s the incentive to stay?” she said.

Nancy Motley, a parent of three, told Schunk she was concerned with Early Childhood cuts. “This program is important to families and communities,” she stressed.

But the big surprise came following Schunk’s comment that the State had doubled general education aid during the past 10 years.

Janet Halonen, finance director for the Proctor District, challenged the statement. “I disagree,” she said. “The increases are nothing more than a shift in funding,” she explained. “Funding is now rolled together, which in many cases has caused decreases.”

Jim Giuffre, a parent of a third grader and in the military, cautioned the Lt. Gov. on the administration’s educational agenda. “Our kids are our greatest investment,” he said. “I will retire soon and will shop around for a school whether in Minnesota or another state.” He also warned that, “Open enrollment has a tearing effect on communities.”

Schunk began visiting school districts as Lt. Gov. in 1998. Her goal was to find innovative programs in each district and post them on her web site. Proctor was the 256th school district that she had visited.