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Renee Murray, Community Columnist, Pioneer Press

I am ever so grateful to have teenagers living at my house.

I know, I know, you’re thinking I’m certifiable.

The real reason I’m grateful is that, having teens means that, as a family, we are crawling closer to the end of direct involvement with the Minnesota K-12 school system.

I feel my children have received excellent educations in Minnesota public schools.

But their achievements are made more remarkable by the fact that, over these past thirteen years, they’ve navigated a rocky path through a system which is increasingly under funded at both state and federal levels -- even as more costly accountability measures are demanded by all levels of government. These same years saw a dramatic rise in English Language learners, students from single parent families, and students from economically challenged homes – all huge and costly challenges for educators. The trail is steep and growing steeper.

When my children were small I used to buy their pants a little too big, because I knew they’d grow into them (and amazingly they always did). One day my daughter would come to me and say, “there’s no wiggle room left.” And that’s how I knew when to buy a new pair. Recently my daughter mouthed those words again, and it brought a smile to my face, except this time she wasn’t talking about her pants. Instead she was browsing the list of budget cuts initiated by the school board in our district (Stillwater - 834). Teachers (some tenured) are being laid off. All media specialists (librarians) will be gone next year, supply budgets will be cut (again), new curriculum and books scheduled for purchase (science texts in use date to the 80’s) will be delayed indefinitely. Cuts on top of cuts made over the past ten years tell the story: There is no wiggle room.

In 1993 there were 126 faculty for 1,770 students at Stillwater High School. In 2005 there are 96 faculty for 2,400 students. This high school will “take the hit” again next year by firing more teachers and reducing elective offerings. Class sizes will rise to over 40 in some cases.

This same story, or some version of it, is being played out in public schools across the state. Meanwhile our state legislators discuss the definition of an “adequate” or “basic” education. And I wonder, how far do we cut to get to “adequate”? Am I living in a parallel universe? Somehow this is not the Minnesota I know.

Our family places a high priority on education, and, hard as it is to believe, we’ve encouraged our children to be more than “adequate.” Consistently their teachers and school administration tell them they must strive for more than “adequate”. Indeed, “adequate” and “basic” were fine back when I graduated from high school, because there was a factory in town that paid a living wage. Heck, they even provided a few benefits, enough for a family to live modestly. No more.

Lately I wonder about the values of my own generation – the baby boomers. Sadly, our “no new taxes” mantra leaves no wiggle room -- no space for librarians or teachers or bold new programs to improve our communities.

And then I feel thankful to have teens. I see my friends who have children in elementary school, and I wonder. I worry about how much harder it will be for them to be advocates for their children in a system with ever-decreasing resources. And I wonder, and I worry, about our shrinking community-mindedness in Minnesota. We sorely need some wiggle room.

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