[Vision2020] Minimum wage

Tue Aug 8 22:00:37 PDT 2006

Tom, I agree with your question.  Here are the challenges I experienced 
during my school board tenure.

The Internals: 1) Local boards and teachers waste too much time and energy 
over the yearly negotiation process and this year is no 
exception.   Solution: Long-term labor contracts (3-5 years) coupled to the 
permanent levy and then have the State Department of Education help in 
mediation, if necessary.  2) Typical Board meetings seem to be stuffed with 
house keeping items and not enough time is given to meaningful ways of 
improving our student’s competitive advantage in the global economy or our 
national economy. Solution: change the format.  3) Public education is 
under attack for not performing, however the idea of “withholding 
treatment” rather than “increasing therapeutic measures” seems opposite of 
my training as a health provider. Solution: Recognize both strengths and 
weaknesses, and then focus on goals and solutions.

The Externals:  1) Educate the public on goals and solutions, which means: 
Board members, teachers, and administrators must become as one voice with 
the concept of continuous and never ending improvement culturally 
imbedded.   2) Respect the taxpayer by saving money and setting 
priorities.  For example, the Tidyman’s could be purchased and converted 
skills center for much less than new construction, or say team up with the 
National Guard for a co-use training facility (The Minnesota Model) and 
Partner with LCSC, Job Service, UI, Dept. of Vocation Education, Business, 
etc. 3) Perhaps use a district sponsored Charter or Magnet Style secondary 
format.  4) Be Progressive and let the public know, since ultimately it is 
the public and public education’s final product that will result in funding 
and pride.   There exists a considerable amount of competition for the tax 
dollar, face it and become competitive.

Jerry

At 01:37 PM 8/8/06, Tom Ivie wrote:
>How do you pay for that when we can't even pass bonds for buildings and 
>the state has to step in to fund that?
>
>Donovan Arnold <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>. . ."under Donovan's plan, parents will have tons more free time --
>what with being excused from the kinds of things most of us signed up for as
>parents -- and will then form roaming street gangs or start smoking or
>having sex."-- Keely Mix
>
>
>Keely,
>
>I know you are the expert on education being on the school board and all. 
>But, as I understand it, all parents have already been having sex.
>
>_DJA
>
>keely emerinemix <kjajmix1 at msn.com> wrote:
>Of course, under Donovan's plan, parents will have tons more free time --
>what with being excused from the kinds of things most of us signed up for as
>parents -- and will then form roaming street gangs or start smoking or
>having sex.
>
>keely
>
>
>From: Donovan Arnold
>To: Jerry Weitz , Shirley Ringo ,
>vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Minimum wage
>Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 07:55:21 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Jerry,
>
>I agree with you 100% regarding the workforce training. The school system
>needs to start kids one year earlier, let them out one year later ,and use
>those two extra years to train youth a job skill, good work ethic, how to
>search for and find a job, keep a job, and advance in that field.
>
>They also need to teach youth how to do taxes, be a responsible member of
>the community, build social skills, know first aid and establish healthy
>eating habits, and all about how credit and debit works.
>
>In other words, schools need to teach youth the things they are going to
>need to know about living in modern society and doing well. So many things
>you learn in school today seem pointless when you get out and never use it.
>You also find yourself hurting in other areas when you are expected to know
>how to do something in life but nobody ever taught you.
>
>Thanks for your email.
>
>Best,
>
>_DJA
>
>Jerry Weitz wrote:
>Raising the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.15 will not help in real
>inflation-adjusted buying power--it is too small of an increase. So let’s
>discuss the fundamentals. As Virginia’s former Democratic governor Mark
>Warner’s track record illustrates, skills training in our high schools
>would help increase wages for Idaho’s workforce and encourage more jobs.
>With the push for community colleges in the urban areas of Idaho, I believe
>that our local high schools could become the rural equivalent of community
>college. This would cost money and would require a willingness to change
>the current high school structure.
>
>The state legislature’s current focus on shifting school funding from
>property taxes to the sales tax (the current maintenance and operations
>debate) misses the point. Instead of focusing on ways to shift funds, I
>would urge consideration for increased funding for the creation/maintenance
>of skills centers in local high schools. Rather than seeking a balanced
>taxation approach, the Idaho Education Association has promoted a tax shift
>to the sales tax, which sends a confusing message.
>
>When one examines France, with a high minimum wage, a large
>under-skilled/inexperienced segment of its youth, guaranteed employment
>contracts, unbending unionization, top down regulations, etc., one observes
>high unemployment, a high cost of living, and extreme social unrest.
>
>What works: 1) create/maintain superior education for both the
>college-bound and the non-college-bound, 2) invest in infrastructure, 3) be
>friendly to business, 4) be environmentally wise, and 5) do this without
>going deeply into debt, which requires prioritization. Ireland has
>followed the above policies with exceptional success. We should follow the
>lead of former governor Warner and Virginia’s Republican legislature and
>make these policies non-partisan. From what I’ve learned, Larry Grant, our
>district’s Democratic candidate for Congress, seems to understand this
>non-partisan, middle of the road approach.
>
>Jerry
>
>
>
>At 11:11 AM 8/7/06, Shirley Ringo wrote:
>Visionaries:
>
>
>I cannot resist the urge to weigh in on the minimum wage issue. I
>proposed legislation during the most recent legislative session to raise
>the minimum wage to $6.15. It received very little support from
>Republicans. (Our District 6 Republicans did support it, and
>Representative Trail will co-sponsor the effort with us again next year.)
>
>"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
>
>We plan to try again next year, at an amount above $6.15.
>
>
>
>Without getting into the usual arguments, it’s unacceptable to have a
>minimum wage that leaves those paid at that level in cruel poverty.
>Lawmakers have neglected maintenance on minimum wage levels. In 1968, the
>minimum wage meant something positive to families. In inflation-adjusted
>dollars, it has lost nearly 40% of its value between 1968 and now.
>
>
>
>According to polling, the vast majority of Americans believe the minimum
>wage should be higher. I believe eighteen states have a minimum wage
>higher than the $5.15 federal level, which has not been raised since 1997.
>Some of these states have used the initiative process to get results, where
>state legislators would not act on it. In some of these states, there has
>been significant help from Republican leaders.
>
>
>
>Many claims of negative consequences do not seem to be true. One of the
>claims is that jobs will be lost. In the majority of states that have
>raised the minimum wage, there has in fact been an increase in jobs. (We
>can’t claim the wage increase caused more jobs, but the decrease some
>predicted didn’t happen.) An increase in employee productivity and less
>absenteeism was reported where the pay level increased.
>
>
>
>On the inflation issue, "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" 
>/>Florida reported after
>raising their minimum wage a very minor increase in some prices. Since a
>relatively small percent of the employed receive minimum wage, one might
>not expect a dramatic increase in prices. (We can expect a “ripple effect”
>though, where employers will raise wages to be more competitive.) One year
>ago in Idaho, according to the Department of Commerce and Labor, 32,000
>Idahoans received a wage between $5.15 and $6.15 per hour. While Idaho
>State Government employee pay is entirely too low, almost none of them
>receive pay as low as $5.15 per hour. I don’t consider it an undisputed
>fact that there will be significant inflation, but we can certainly study
>the issue in the states that have raised the minimum wage.
>
>
>
>Workers who receive minimum wage live from paycheck to paycheck. (If
>they can make it stretch.) They have no discretionary money. What are
>they to do when their taxes go up? Just more water in the gravy, I guess.
>At the minimum wage, it takes more than one full day to earn the money to
>buy fifteen gallons of gasoline.
>
>
>
>While I continue to study the issue, I am convinced that some of the
>negative consequences of raising the minimum wage are over-stated. I am
>also steadfast in my belief that it is unacceptable to value people and
>families so little that we allow such a low level of compensation for their
>efforts and to address their needs.
>
>
>
>Shirley
>
>
>
>
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