Although Minnesota schools consistently fare well by national standards, the state’s public schools have faced extreme budget cuts in recent years, and many residents are left asking: where is the money going? Visiting Assistant Professor of Educational Studies Kathryn Wegner, with the help of students, local activists, and the Saint Paul Federation of Teachers, is determined to find answers.
Professor Wegner’s involvement with the Saint Paul Federation of teachers began when she moved from Chicago to Saint Paul, where her children attend public school. As an educator, Professor Wegner has first-hand experience with the aftermath of budget cuts. She has seen class sizes increase beyond capacity, she’s seen social workers and special education teachers lose their jobs, and the inevitable decrease in individual attention in the classroom. As a community member and mother, she has seen how underfunded schools affect communities at large.
Young students with fewer educational resources are less likely to find stable employment or continue their education later in life. In an attempt to raise awareness about the state of funding in Minnesota public schools, the Saint Paul Federation of Teachers (SPFT) launched a community education project called Teaching and Inquiring about Greed, Equity, and Racism (TIGER).
TIGER is open to the public and is a group of teachers, school staff, parents, and community members. According to members, the name is intentionally political. Their organization chooses words such as “greed” and “racism” to call attention to the fact that funding education is not apolitical.
TIGER meets monthly to share research on policies that privatize and underfund public schools. Professor Wegner is actively involved with TIGER, and frequently collaborates with SPFT staff and teachers, gives presentations to parents, and takes action for fully funded and racially equitable public schools. As a scholar, her presentations often include in-depth policy analysis and case studies. TIGER is dedicated to providing high-quality research to a variety of audiences in accessible ways.
Professor Wegner has helped bring Carleton into the conversation about funding public schools in Minnesota. In winter 2018, Professor Wegner taught an Educational Studies class called “The Politics of Teaching,” a course that explored the politics of teaching, school reform, and the curriculum. Students in this course were invited to orchestrate research projects with members of SPFT. As part of these research projects, students traveled to the Twin Cities to attend multiple SPFT meetings and to meet teachers and activists in the area.
The overall goal of the course was to help students think critically about the complex problems facing local communities today. Students set out to find explanations for Saint Paul’s annual budget cuts and where the money is going instead. Students were then required to present their research following a popular education model, meaning their research had to be presented in a public, easily understood way. The course resulted in infographics, maps, and visual representations to help explain where budget cuts were happening and where the money is going.
In spring 2018, after Saint Paul teachers went on strike and after students had concluded their research, Professor Wegner organized a panel of SPFT members and Carleton students to discuss the current state of public school funding. The panel included two alumni, Patrick Burke ’14 and Peter Grebner ’85, as well as Erica Schatzlein, an experienced educator and member of SPFT. Students presented their research findings and SPFT speakers opened conversation about difficult topics about money in public schools.
While the conversations are still ongoing, more and more community members are attending TIGER workshops and advocating for better funding for Saint Paul schools. Although current school budgets look bleak, there is cause for hope. Professor Wegner hopes that continuing TIGER workshops will show community members that they can organize and use free tools to successfully change the narrative around public school funding.