Capitol Review: Changes Loom for Teacher Seniority

Minnesota could be on the fast-track to becoming a state that would strip teachers of seniority when schools have to let teachers go.

St. Michael-Albertville's Representative in the Minnesota House, Rep. Joe McDonald, voted in favor of a bill that would replace seniority with teacher evaluation results as the deciding factor when school districts face layoffs.

Most of his Republican neighbors, including Joyce Peppin (Rogers) and Mary Kiffmeyer (Big Lake) joined him in favor of HF1870, which passed 68-61, basically along party lines, the Pioneer Press reported.

According to the Pioneer Press report, Minnesota is one of 11 states considered "last in, first out" where young, recently hired teachers are the first to be let go, while older teachers who have been with districts for years aren't generally at risk.

Had such a law been in place, last year's elimination of more than 100 teachers in Lakeville, for example, may have been different.

But opponents say that in most cases, experience is tied to good teachers.

"Experience is valued in every other profession," Mary Cathryn Ricker, president of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers, told the Star Tribune. "Why would it be ignored in ours?"

Meanwhile, the Star Tribune reports that nearly 40 percent of Minnesota's school districts have contracts in place that allow for other factors than just seniority when layoffs occur.

Those contracts, according to Education Minnesota, allow flexibility and a sense of security to teachers who have a number of years of experience, the report said.

Yesterday, the Senate took a similar bill off the table while it works through the legal and logistical aspects of the law. Sen. Gen Olsen of the education committee said she's looking it over. 

It's unclear if Gov. Mark Dayton would sign the legislation if it made it to his desk.