As is many parts of the country, there are tough financial times being faced by schools in Minnesota. With astronomically large state (and national) deficits, the job of a politician is more thankless now than ever. While I have been very critical of the direction of politics in general recently, I do want to take a moment to thank the members of the Minnesota Legislature for holding K-12 education generally harmless through the tough political decisions that were faced in the recently concluded session. Sure, there are still many underfunded initiatives and our kids are facing greater challenges than ever, but in a typical Minnesota response, "it could have been much worse." The fact that technology funding was preserved is of particular interest to those who might read these words.
Even if I don't always agree with them, I do respect the work that our political leaders are doing at a time of unprecedented global economic turmoil. Now, if we could just stop being so "gosh darn" polarized in our political views, maybe we could actually do some great things rather than just holding on.
