Editor’s note: The letter below was presented to the Wright Technical Center School Board on Tuesday, June 6. The center serves the Annandale School District and others in Wright and Sheburne counties with technical and career education services.
As the 2005-2006 school year comes to an end, the teachers of Wright Technical Center and Wright Learning Center are pleased and proud to look back upon a positive school year. The year was filled with numerous successes for our vast assortment of diverse students. Though these positive feelings regarding the school year that has just ended are abundant, the members of Wright Technical Center Educators Federation Local 3780 are feeling very troubled because we have been working under an expired contract for an entire school year. District 966 is now one of only three remaining Minnesota schools that have not yet settled their contract with teachers for 2005-2007. We would like to take this opportunity to suggest that now is the time for the school board and superintendents to get serious about a contract that will fairly and equitably compensate our many skilled teachers. The district’s past investment in high-quality teachers has paid off and continues to pay off for students and communities alike. Competitive salaries and benefits are necessary to attract and retain a well-qualified teaching staff. It is imperative that a contract settlement includes provisions which ensure that the educators of this district do not feel undervalued and over-stressed by having to pay more out of pocket medical expenses on a smaller than average salary when compared to other educators in this area. Visitors to our school might notice that our hallways look very much like that of a typical high school. What may not be so easily noticed or recognized and appreciated by many is the unique and individualized learning experience each of our students is receiving in our classrooms. Our highly skilled instructors in both career and technical education and in alternative education provide a learning environment that is unlike that of traditional high school settings and that is far better at meeting the educational needs of many students who are less successful in the more traditional settings. Specifically, there are many positive achievements that have taken place in the 2005-2006 school year. Over 180 students with special needs received training in career related fields. The Wright Learning Center was able to graduate more than 60 students this year, and will continue to graduate more during the upcoming summer school session. Wright Technical Center students have earned a total of 1,241 credits that will be applied to a technical college education, saving the students and their families roughly $165,000. Students from both parts of the school continue to give back to the surrounding communities in activities such as cleaning up more man 10 miles of Buffalo’s city streets in the “Trash Bash” every year, building more than 30 family homes in the area over the past three decades and volunteering to help senior citizens understand how to use the new Medicare programs. Our students engage in many exceptional and unique experiences that positively affect the communities surrounding our school. As the population of this area continues to grow, the demand for our specialized educational services will increase as well. However, the supply of teachers qualified to provide these services is limited. In the Technical Center our teachers must not only possess a high level of technical expertise, but must also earn a four-year college degree that is not normally required to work in many of these fields. The learning center requires being a skilled instructor, as well as the ability to work with and inspire some of the most challenging learners. Many of the students we serve are often less than positive about coming to school and often do not see the need for education to be a priority in their lives. The teachers of WTC and WLC are proud that their efforts have accomplished so much in terms of student success and positive interactions within the communities served by Wright Technical Center, We want these successes and community partnerships to continue for many years. We ask that the school board adopt a sense of urgency about reaching an agreement with its teachers that provides a fair and competitive salary and benefits package. Teachers want and need to be student-focused at the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year. The school board needs to make settling this contract its highest priority.
