DFL participants

focus on education

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- A straw vote at the Democratic Farmer Labor Caucus for New Ulm and Cottonwood, Milford, and Sigel townships Tuesday night at Jefferson Elementary School favored Judi Dutcher for governor.

Dutcher had 22 votes, Roger Moe 13, Becky Lourey 4, and Ole Savior 2.

Resolutions discussed and approved centered on education.

Eight of nine proposed resolutions were approved. They will be considered at the Brown County DFL Convention on Saturday, March 16 in the New Ulm Public Library basement meeting room.

Selected resolutions will be forwarded to the state convention May 3-5 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Approved resolutions included:

* Creating a statewide health insurance program for all school employees in all school districts. All school employees would be lumped into a large group in order to reduce insurance costs, which have risen about 15 percent per year the past few years. Higher insurance costs were blamed for rising education costs.

* Supporting the Rule of 90 allowing educators to retire with full pension benefits when their age and years of teaching equal 90. Teachers hired after July 1, 1989 do not qualify.

* The federal government should not mandate educational programs without fully funding them.

* Eliminating the Profile of Learning requirement in public schools.

New Ulm High School Senior Dan Kitzberger called it a "ridiculous requirement that didn't fit class criteria."

"The amount of paperwork bogs down teachers and students," Kitzberger said.

* Allowing undocumented workers to receive driver's licenses.

New Ulm ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher Henk Exoo promoted the resolution.

"There are many undocumented workers around here that don't have driver's licenses. They can drive fine; they just don't have licenses, Social Security numbers and/or Minnesota identification," Exoo said. "These people take jobs nobody else wants. They should be rewarded for their work which is highly-valued by many employers."

* A state referendum requiring a minimum of 3/16 of 1 percent of the state sales tax to go to environmental trust and state game and fish funding to thwart environmental degradation. Missouri has a similar law that created a stable environmental funding source.

* Federal Special Education funding should be increased to the promised, but never reached, 40 percent funding level.

* A resolution that would have made all educators state employees with cost of living adjustments computed on the area they lived, was not approved after votes were counted by hand. The plan was created to eliminate local contract negotiations.

The resolutions are forwarded to the county level for action.

DFLers chosen not to elect county delegates and unit convention committee members. Anybody wishing to attend the county convention was invited.

Green Party holds

first precinct caucus

The first-ever Green Party precinct caucus in Brown County was held Tuesday night with nine participants at the Jefferson Elementary School Media Center.

In a straw poll for governor, Green Party members favored Nick Raleigh with 5 votes, Ken Pentel had 3 votes and Ray Joseph Tricome had 1 vote.

Approved resolutions included:

* Equity of educational funding for rural schools, particularly those with cultural diversity.

* Promoting livable wages.

* Fair prescription drug prices.

* Sustainable agriculture.

* Reducing oil consumption by supporting biomass, wind, and solar power.

* Increasing public transportation.

* Protecting constitutional rights

* Protecting watersheds.

* Redefining globalization as a peaceful, cooperative, cultural exchange instead of economic exploitation.