Published November 20, 2005 in the Hibbing Daily Tribune
By Aaron J. Brown
According to indicators, the economy is doing fine, both here in northern Minnesota and nationally. Growth leveled off just recently, but unemployment, new construction and inflation all seem to be where the big shots want them to be.
The problem with blindly trusting economic trends is that we fail to see reality.
For instance, strong economic trends don’t erase the vast gap between the poorest people in America and the so-called “mainstream” and richest classes. Just look at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast. A wealthy, powerful country can do better than that for its citizens. And we can do better here on the Range for the working poor and retirees squeezed by rising property values and cost of living.
A strong economy hasn’t guaranteed much for the American worker, who’s seen skyrocketing health insurance premium costs, more hours for less pay (on average) and a rollback of many established workplace protections. In addition, the economy’s strength is literally built on the ruins of countless pension plans dumped by big companies and propped up (at reduced amounts) by the dwindling funds of the federal Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. And if the economy should dip, workers and retirees will suffer first and most.
The other thing strong economic trends still fail to do is improve the state of our educational system. From our local schools to the Twin Cities metro area to just about any part of the United States, a good economy has done little to reduce class sizes or expand an average American student’s education.
Here in northern Minnesota, budget problems forced many school districts to ask voters for more money earlier this month. In Virginia, a bond issue passed, rescuing that district from operating debt at the last moment. However, an important bond issue in Ely failed and many other districts will again approach voters in upcoming election years to seek similar funding. The St. Louis County School District, representing the last of our region’s small rural schools, faces enormous challenges in upcoming years. Larger class sizes and reduced course offerings are sure to result, if not outright school closures.
Declining enrollment and money problems fuel these issues, but increased funding isn’t the only answer. Some schools would benefit by consolidating, especially at the district level. In fact, some schools could share a lot more than administration and open up funding for actual teacher to student contact hours. This won’t be easy or popular, but will become necessary in the near future.
Even more importantly, especially for small schools, federal and state mandates need to include funding provisions or else be reformed into a more efficient, flexible system. “No Child Left Behind” is only an accurate description if you allow that our system gradually leaves every child behind. Distant bureaucrats tell schools to blindly enforce numeric formulas, compelling local educators to abandon common sense in order to meet arbitrary goals so that their funding remains secure. In a government run by so-called conservative states’ rights advocates, this is a big steaming pile of irony. And it has real effects that you can see in Hibbing, Cherry, Chisholm, Nashwauk-Keewatin, Greenway and other Range schools.
I often hear people complain that the media only focuses on the negative, burying positive economic news in order to dig up the bad. If you agree with this, well, I’m sorry to disappoint. Our current strong economy is recreating some of the jobs lost 3-5 years ago and improving most stock portfolios. Good. Yet, if the economy was really that great, we’d be talking about what to do at our local schools to make our students competitive with their counterparts in Asia and Europe. The real talk in the real world, as always, is centered on cuts, layoffs and increased class sizes.
Good economy? Prove it.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist for the Hibbing Daily Tribune.