Anoka-Hennepin needs Legislature’s assist with employees scarcity, funding | Schooling
Anoka-Hennepin School District wants lawmakers to address staff shortages and increase funding for special schools and mental health in the next legislature in line with the district’s proposed legislative priorities for 2022.
The 2022 session, which begins January 31, is the second session of the biennium, meaning the legislature will mainly focus on politics rather than funding.
“That certainly doesn’t mean there won’t be any additional funding, especially since the outlook for the future looks relatively positive,” said Al Ickler, executive director of community and government relations.
Ickler proposed the legislative priorities for 2022 to the school council on November 22nd.
A priority for the next year is stabilizing the county’s funding.
This also includes ensuring “fairness” for taxpayers with regard to the operational referendum. By dividing the cost between the local taxpayer and the state, ideally, local taxpayers would pay a little less while the state pays more, “which seems very fair,” Ickler said.
Typically, when Anoka-Hennepin collects a certain amount, it costs individuals more than a similar levy would cost taxpayers in other counties, Superintendent David Law said.
“So the same levy costs our taxpayers more,” Law said.
This is because the district is considered “low ownership,” said board member Bill Harvey, which means there aren’t many large industries or corporations in the region that bear a large portion of the tax burden.
“So our taxpayers and their homes carry most of the burden of funding,” said Harvey. “Because of this, there is a discrepancy there that other churches get a lot more for their money. Your dollar goes much further. We have therefore asked the legislature to continue to compensate if they give us a mandate so that some of the other districts have a level playing field with us and our taxpayers are respected. “
Another part of stabilizing district funding is increasing funding for its English learning and special education programs so Anoka-Hennepin can reduce cross-subsidies for those programs, Ickler said. Right now the district is getting some money for these programs from the general fund, he said.
Harvey expressed his frustration with the government mandate programs without providing the funds necessary for the programs to be successful.
“We don’t want to neglect our great special needs students, teachers and families,” said Harvey. “We want to keep doing a great job, but please do your justice [the state’s] Obligation to finance it appropriately. “
Another priority is to increase the safe school levy and state aid to meet mental health needs across the county.
APPLICATION OF STAFF LACK
The district has had difficulty recruiting staff recently, namely auxiliaries, nutrition workers, childcare workers and other auxiliary workers, Ickler said.
To address the district’s labor shortage, Anoka-Hennepin would like the state to help with funding to make the positions more attractive to potential applicants, Ickler said.
Another priority is finding creative ways to increase the number of licensed teachers to address staff shortages – whether through flexibility in the tiered licensing process or removing certain barriers to alleviate the shortage of substitute teachers.
The district increased the salaries for substitute teachers in November hoping to attract more applicants.
At the beginning of November there were about 250 substitute teachers in the district, about 100 fewer than usual, Sarah Kriewell, director of the HR services department, told ABC Newspapers.
The district has also seen a “slight decline” in the number of substitute players across the state in recent years, Kriewell said.
“A large part of our replacement pool is traditionally made up of Anoka Hennepin retirees, and they have been a large, very important part of our replacement teacher group,” said Kriewell. “I think there are many reasons people are not working these days … but retired teachers may be concerned about their immunocompromised immunity or they might be in an age group that could have more severe symptoms.” [due to COVID-19] or other underlying health conditions. “
Schools have come up with a variety of interim solutions, including headmasters and deputy headmasters who take over teaching when necessary. Sometimes teachers who are deployed outside the classroom also take over the classes, Kriewell said.
The 2021 legislative period led to an increase in the general educational formula of the state by 2.45% this year and by 2% next year.
“[It’s] certainly helpful, certainly required in our system, but not historically high, ”said Ickler.
The state also funded scholarship programs designed to increase the number of color teachers across the state, he said.
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