Star Tribune
How well are Minnesota’s teachers paid?
Teacher unions across Minnesota have pushed for higher-than-typical raises in contract negotiations this year, saying boosts in pay are overdue and necessary to bolster efforts to recruit and retain teachers amid widespread educator staffing shortages.
Some have managed to negotiate salary boosts of 4%, 6% and even 10% in deals that, in some cases, were worth nearly the same amount their districts received through last year’s $2.2 billion state investment in schools.
But just as teacher unions cite the rising cost of living as one reason they deserve pay boosts, districts are also bemoaning inflation and scrambling to balance budgets without the millions in pandemic relief funds that run dry this year.
Wages and benefits proved a sticking point in negotiations between St. Paul Public Schools and its teacher union, which this month reached a tentative agreement less than a week before a planned walkout. Union members ratified the deal this week and said it includes 4% raises next school year, among other things. According to district leaders, it is not expected to add to the district’s $107 million projected deficit for 2024-2025.
The Minneapolis public school district is in ongoing mediation with its teacher union amid what district leaders say is a $110 million deficit for next year.
“Recent historic new state education funding has helped immensely,” said Minneapolis Public Schools finance director Ibrahima Diop at a recent school board meeting. “But that amount is not keeping up with the national increase in cost of operation that we see.”
Investing in public schools and public teachers takes work at the federal, state and local level, said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the largest national teachers union. In the State of the Union address this month, President Joe Biden said he wants to “give public school teachers a raise,” and the Minnesota legislature invested historic amounts into education last year, she said.
“What we’re saying is local districts also have to do that,” Pringle said. “If all three levels are working together, that’s where you’re going to be able to raise salaries to the level that is commensurate with the important work our educators do.”
Here’s how Minnesota teachers are paid:
Salaries in the largest MN districts
According to data from Minnesota’s educator licensing board, average teacher pay among the ten largest districts in the state ranged from about $70,000 a year in Mounds View and Rochester to over $89,000 in Wayzata. Those numbers are from last year — before the latest pay raises were negotiated and went into effect.
In St. Paul, the average teacher salary last year was about $87,000.
The average salary for Minneapolis teachers is $76,000. The district is in mediation with the teachers union, which was initially pushing for an 8.5% salary increase for teachers in the first year of the next contract and 7.5% the following year.
No. 18 in the nation
A report by the National Education Association ranked Minnesota 18th in the nation for average teacher pay last year.
Minnesota’s teachers make $64,200 on average — about $2,500 less than the national average. The highest average, $91,100, was in New York. Mississippi’s average, $47,900, ranked the lowest in the country.
The average starting pay for teachers in Minnesota was about $42,300, slightly less than the national average, according to the association. The lowest-ranking state for starting pay was Montana, where new teachers make $33,500 on average. Washington, D.C., ranked the highest, with an average starting salary of more than $56,000.
Bottom and top scale
Most school districts in Minnesota base teacher compensation based on education and years of experience. Teachers enter a “lane” based on their highest level of education and progress through “steps” in the salary schedule determined by years of experience.
First-year teachers with a bachelor’s degree make between $45,000 and $50,000 in Minnesota’s five largest districts: Anoka-Hennepin, St. Paul, Rosemount-Apple Valley Eagan, Minneapolis, Osseo, and South Washington County.
Teachers at the top step and lane in those districts — those who have earned a PhD and have two decades of experience — can earn more than six figures. The pay raises agreed to in the latest contracts in Anoka-Hennepin and South Washington County school districts pushed their top scales above $100,000.
Minnesota teachers make nearly 28% less than other comparable college-educated workers in the state, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank based in Washington, D.C. That gap is about 26% nationally.
Some take him up on it and fret when he’s not around.
“It is nice to be missed and be part of the school’s culture,” Arzola said. But mostly, he added, he wants kids to know that police aren’t around just for when the bad stuff happens. He’ll hand out his stickers and bracelets, even a trading card bearing his image. Then, they’ll talk about dogs and family.
School resource officer Al Arzola talks to students in his office at John Adams Middle School in Rochester on Oct. 11. (Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Two months ago, Rochester played host to a three-day training session for new SROs from across the state — an event organized by the Minnesota School Safety Center. On the final day, the 26 officers learned about surveillance challenges at the other school where Arzola works: Dakota Middle School.
It is a beautiful building with a scenic view. There is a lot of glass, too. Arzola, handling the role of instructor and tour guide, took the group outside and noted how one could look straight through the entrance to the large groups that gather inside. There were no curbs in front, either.
“There is nothing stopping any vehicle whatsoever from going through my front doors,” Arzola told the officers. “Law enforcement wasn’t talked to before this building was made. It was kind of like, ‘Here it is. You’re the SRO. Do what you do.’”
He showed them his office, too, which is separate from the main office and near those of other school support staff members. That makes sense, said Jenny Larrive, SRO coordinator for the Minnesota School Safety Center, given than SROs spend more time connecting with youth than on actual law enforcement.
“The basic rule in Minnesota is you cannot preemptively post law enforcement at a polling place,” he said. “A city can’t say, ‘Wow, Precinct Two, there’s a lot of intensity there, let’s just put a cop at the door.’”
Simon doesn’t go deep into the details on security, though. “I don’t want to give a total road map to the bad guys,” he said.
But testimony at the Capitol last year on behalf of the new law bolstering protections for election and polling place workers indicated there’s room for concern. One election worker was followed to her car by an angry voter; the head of elections in another county was called repeatedly on her home phone during off hours, and an official was lunged at by an aggrieved voter, forcing her to call the local sheriff.
Those who violate the law could now face civil damages and penalties of up to $1,000 for each violation.
The Brennan Center survey indicated more than four in 10 election leaders were concerned about recruiting enough poll workers due to threats of harassment and intimidation. This includes doxing — publishing a person’s personal information online in a threatening manner — and swatting, fake emergency calls that result in an armed response being sent to someone’s home.
“Election officials are working to prepare for everything right now,” said Liz Howard, director of partnership engagement at the Brennan Center. “More than 90% of election officials have made improvements to election security since 2020.”
Star Tribune
Daylight saving time ends next weekend. This is how to prepare for the potential health effects
The good news: You will get a glorious extra hour of sleep. The bad: It’ll be dark as a pocket by late afternoon for the next few months in the U.S.
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time next Sunday, Nov. 3, which means you should set your clock back an hour before you go to bed. Standard time will last until March 9 when we will again ”spring forward” with the return of daylight saving time.
That spring time change can be tougher on your body. Darker mornings and lighter evenings can knock your internal body clock out of whack, making it harder to fall asleep on time for weeks or longer. Studies have even found an uptick in heart attacks and strokes right after the March time change.
”Fall back” should be easier. But it still may take a while to adjust your sleep habits, not to mention the downsides of leaving work in the dark or trying exercise while there’s still enough light. Some people with seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression usually linked to the shorter days and less sunlight of fall and winter, may struggle, too.
Some health groups, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have said it’s time to do away with time switches and that sticking with standard time aligns better with the sun — and human biology.
Most countries do not observe daylight saving time. For those that do — mostly in Europe and North America — the date that clocks are changed varies.
Two states — Arizona and Hawaii — don’t change and stay on standard time.
Here’s what to know about the twice yearly ritual.
