High-level members of the Minnesota House of Representatives heard from administrators and school board members from several Brainerd-area districts during a listening session Tuesday at the Aitkin Public Library.
Minnesota legislators Jenifer Loon and Sondra Erickson, Republicans who chair the House Education Finance and Education Policy committees respectively, heard educators express concerns about regulations and lack of funding.
Rep. Dale Lueck, R-Aitkin, and Sen. Carrie Ruud, R-Breezy Point, also took part in the meeting.
The beginning portion of the listening session was dominated by talk on an impending action from the Higher Learning Commission, a multi-state accrediting agency, which intends to require college instructors-including high school teachers who teach concurrent enrollment classes-to have at least a master's degree in the field that they teach.
Several of the K-12 officials felt the upcoming change threatened college courses being taught in their high schools.
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Mike Domin of the Crosby-Ironton school board was suspicious of the motives for the new rule and feared a "dictatorship" in the form of the HLC.
"It's a money grab, it is a total money grab," he said. "Who in the heck gave this Higher Learning Commission all this power? That is totally ridiculous."
Domin went on to prophesy that Brainerd-area schools would "lay off half of our teachers."
"It'll decimate us," he said. "It is a big deal for anybody who's relatively close to a community college."
Bob Gross, interim superintendent for Brainerd Public Schools, said it would likely be a while before the HLC's power could be checked.
"Maybe you're going to be able to do something in terms of reining those people in," he said. "I frankly am not very hopeful, at least in the short term."
There was also some anxiety over post-secondary enrollment options and their effect on the student population of high schools. Each student that goes PSEO could mean lost per-pupil revenue.
Gross said because of the nearby Central Lakes College, 97 students were taken away from Brainerd High School via PSEO, resulting in a loss of nearly $1 million.
"Let's just admit it, that we've decided that two years of education has little value," he said. "This is such a frustration for me."
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Valarie Wallin of the Pequot Lakes school board said PSEO had the potential to cast teenagers adrift in a college world they weren't yet ready to encounter.
"As a parent, I don't really want my 16-year-old going to college with 20-year-olds," she said. "They're just not mature enough to really be in a college classroom."
ZACH KAYSER may be reached at 218-855-5860 or Zach.Kayser@brainerddispatch.com . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ZWKayser .
