Albert Lea School Board members and district teachers are debating the use of staff development funds to bring back programs cut by the board last December.

Saturday, January 19, 2002

Albert Lea School Board members and district teachers are debating the use of staff development funds to bring back programs cut by the board last December. Teachers want to know how the money will be spent, but board members are leery of preconditions.

Despite saying ‘no’ last Dec. 14 to a school board request to use staff development funds to help the Albert Lea School district keep programs, some of the district’s teachers are willing to consider voting on the issue again.

&uot;We are offering to organize another vote contingent on knowing what the funds will be spent on,&uot; said Susan Hanson, Albert Lea Education Association (ALEA) President.

As of Thursday, Hanson said, the board had not responded with any details on how the released funds would be spent. The executive board of ALEA will be having an emergency meeting this coming Thursday to discuss the issue.

Tom Eaton, a school board member and treasurer, feels that the board would use any money gained from a reduction to the staff development fund to bring programs back. However, he is uncomfortable with having to discuss details prior to a decision by the teachers.

&uot;We can’t sit down and make lists until the vote comes,&uot; Eaton said.

&uot;I don’t know that we want it to come to us with any preconditions,&uot; he said.

Jean Jordan, Principal at Lakeview Elementary and former district staff development coordinator, is uncertain about the likelihood of another vote.

&uot;There’s a feeling among some of the teachers that we’ve done this, and now it’s time to move on,&uot; said Jordan. But Jordan senses that others seem to be saying that they didn’t have enough information before the last vote, and they would like to reopen the question.

Jordan doesn’t know whether teachers want exact details or if they would be satisfied with broad categories. People at all levels – teachers, administrators, and board members – are all being as careful as possible as they discuss this, she said.

This would be the first time in her memory that the school district used dollars originally earmarked for staff development for some other purpose, she added.

The money in question is included in the district’s budget for staff development. The total amount in the staff development fund is $350,000, but $200,000 of that would be available to the district for possibly putting towards program cuts, if teachers agreed to release the funds.

A majority of teachers voted against releasing the funds before the Dec. 17 school board meeting where cuts to the 2002-2003 budget were approved. Currently, teachers have the right to decide whether to release the money or not.