Last week in Hann campaigns against kindergarteners, Bluestem looked at Minnesota's Senate Minority Leader's kvetching to the West Central Tribune about new state funding for all-day kindergarten.
In other cities, Hann also took aim at other aspects of the education bill. The Fergus Fall Daily Journal reported:
More than $100 million will go toward all-day, everyday kindergarten across the state, which is a popular move with some but not others, Westrom said. Graduation standards for students were eliminated in the session, along with the basic skills test for teachers, Hann said.
“I found that to be amazing,” Hann said.
House District 18A representative Dean Urdahl (R-Grove City), himself a retired high school teacher, disagrees. The Litchfield Independent-Review editor Andrew Broman reports in Urdahl says tax fears came true:
Urdahl bucked his party on at least one occasion by voting for a $15.7 million education bill. Urdahl was one of only five Republicans to vote for the DFL-backed bill. The education bill included several DFL priorities, including funding all-day kindergarten.
He said he objected to Republican-led efforts to mandate a high school graduation testing requirement. The proposed test is flawed, Urdahl said, because as many as 30,000 of the state’s 60,000 graduating seniors would likely flunk it, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.
“So what are we going to do with 30,000 kids?” Urdahl asked. “I think we need to reevaluate how we’re going to do this.”
Bluestem thinks we may have to revise our older headline to "Hann campaigns against kindergarteners--and high school seniors." We do give him credit for covering his bases, as well as alienating up to 30,000 additional young voters. It's the Republican Party way.
Urdahl continues:
Urdahl also said he supported the education bill because of a provision that would allow teachers to continue teaching for an additional two years if they fail state-mandated licensure exams. Urdahl said some teachers are failing the exams, even though parts of the test aren’t related to their teaching field.
For example, Urdahl said, kindergarten teachers should not be expected to pass a test for college-level mathematics. “What does that have to do with what they teach?” he said.
Urdahl said he supports giving school boards the flexibility to decide whether to keep a teacher that flunks a licensure test.
His 2012 opponent, Dassel's Nancy Larson, praises his vote:
Larson gave Urdahl credit for joining some Republicans in voting for the education bill. “I’m willing to praise Dean anytime he takes good votes, and he has, and that’s important,” Larson said. “We respect that.”
So does Bluestem.
Photo: This 2012 photo of Dean Urdahl holding up a piece of the state capitol building while arguing for a bonding bill to save the structure doesn't have much to do with our post, but the LIR article does mention Urdahl's support for the successful but slimmed down 2013 bonding bill which largely goes to repair the historic building. We mostly like the photo, via WDAZ.
If you enjoy reading posts like this on Bluestem Prairie, consider throwing some coin in the tip jar:
Comments