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Could have fooled me, since he is first in line after the Taxpayers League to take a swing at the recently released education funding report. The report calls for bipartisan dialogue on this important topic. A fair, thorough examination of the report is the least the Legislature can do.

The governor and legislators either need to support further discussion or be honest about their unwillingness to pay what it costs to educate students to the standards they have set. If all Yost is willing to do is promote the agenda of the Taxpayers League, perhaps this paper should insist that the league start subsidizing his salary instead of your readers.

JANET O'CONNELL, Lake Elmo

I recently returned to teaching as a substitute teacher in the St. Paul area. I find the recent proposal to make our state's education more on par or competitive with countries that we'll be competing with for jobs very interesting. Before the decision-makers spend time and money trying to lengthen the school year by five weeks, they should observe what is going on in our schools' classrooms.
My recent experience has led me to believe that what needs to be done is to modify current laws that would reinstate the classroom as a place where the teacher can dedicate his or her time to instructing and facilitating the learning process instead of one where 50 percent or more of a teacher's time is spent disciplining or redirecting the behavior of a small group of the class's students.

JOEL KNOEPFLER, West St. Paul

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/editorial/letters/13468664.htm