Setting the Stage for the Last Week. It was all on the front page of the print edition of the Sunday Minneapolis StarTribune. The synopsis for the coming week, especially as it relates to the education community, was all right there in black-and-white. The top of the fold declared: "State's bad teachers rarely get fired" and below and slightly to the right of that article was the story "Nine days left to find $3 billion." Kind of sums it all up as we roll into the last week of the legislative session.

The article regarding the firing of teachers is a StarTribune exclusive available only in print (I guess the new StarTribune business model is "don't give everything away for free," which hopefully will save them from drowning in a sea of red ink), so I can only summarize it here. The article pretty much echoes the headline, it is extremely hard to fire tenured teachers. I realize that's a little "dog bites man" for those in the education community, but it certainly highlights the recent discussion on tenure changes as part of Governor Pawlenty's proposed legislation to limit tenure and include these changes in Minnesota's Phase 2 Race to the Top application. So run out to your local Oasis Market or Kwik-Trip and see if they have any copies left of the StarTribune Sunday edition.

The article on the challenge ahead of the Governor and Legislature in the final week doesn't shed a whole lot of new light on the subject, but does accurately outline the parameters of the impending discussion. Lots of spicy repartee.

Link: http://www.startribune.com/politics/local/93206004.html?page=1&c=y