It's time to fix LIFO

Today (February 16), the Minnesota House will debate a proposal that would change rules regarding teacher seniority and layoffs.

The bill would – among other things - authorize districts to base any unrequested leave of absence, discharge or demotion on a mix of performance evaluation and seniority instead of only seniority. This Last In/First Out, or “LIFO,” is a long-standing policy that’s been the norm in much of the country, though Minnesota is one of the only about a dozen states that require it based on state law.

 “We mandate that schools use quality-blind seniority privileges for retention decisions. That doesn’t work; it’s being widely criticized. I think we’ll take a look at repealing that,” said Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, in an interview with MPR earlier this session.

The LIFO policy has three major negative impacts: first, when districts conduct seniority-based layoffs, they end up firing some of our most highly effective educators. Such a policy is bad for students and schools.

Second, LIFO policies actually drive up the number of layoffs because junior teachers make less money, meaning more have to be let go in order to meet the overall amount of money they need to save.

Finally, LIFO disproportionately impacts the lowest performing schools. These schools have larger numbers of new teachers, who are the first to lose their jobs in a layoff untimely disrupting the schools that need the stability the most.

LIFO is one of the several education bills GOP lawmakers are pushing to pass this year. Two other bills that have been heard already are HF1860 which is a student-first bill that allows levy funding to follow students to a charter school within their home district. The other bill, HF1770, requires teacher candidates to pass the basic skills exam before obtaining a license in Minnesota.

Representative Petersen spoke about the LIFO bill on The Flag earlier this month:

Lawmakers look to business tax, permit changes

From Forum Communications:

Zellers said he is looking forward to working with Democrat Dayton to establish a “one-stop shop” for permitting applications so business owners do not have to fill out multiple forms that often ask the same questions.

“Especially in this economy, that’s not useful,” Zellers said.

Pioneer Press Editorial: Building a better business environment in Minnesota

Printed in Saturday's St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Even if an improving economy shrinks that shortfall, we urge lawmakers to take the long view, realizing the financial pressure on Minnesota's public budgets will persist. We've been warned about the implications of the demographic changes ahead and the strain an aging population will place on state resources.

In addition, the attention to reform, redesign and cost-cutting should capitalize on energy coming from many sources, including the governor's office and legislative

Democrats, and from counties, municipalities and others.

The Republicans say they are ready. "We're as prepared as I've seen the caucus" in his time at the Capitol, says Zellers, who credits House Majority Leader Matt Dean for work on the preparations since the Legislature adjourned in July.

"People are looking for results," said Dean.

GOP leaders: Our Minnesota agenda

Published in Sunday's Star Tribune:

We spent the last five months traveling the state, driving thousands of miles to dozens of cities to meet with hundreds of job providers, local government officials, educators and citizens to listen to their ideas on what government can and should do better.

This session, we will restore confidence in our economy to foster private-sector job growth, improve education to provide a highly skilled workforce, and make government more-efficient and cost-effective through reform.

Read the whole column here.