March 28, 2025

Mar 257 min read

Happy Spring Break, EPEA!

The last big break of the school year is (finally) upon us! Only 43 student contact days remain on our calendars. As we know, there is plenty of work to be done in those 43 days. In the coming weeks, we have opportunities for EPEA members to help in the fight to improve our pensions, stand up to harmful executive policies, and become a leader within our union.

Thank you for the hard work you have put in over the last seven months to provide our students with world-class experiences. The next nine calendar days offer an opportunity to relax, recharge, and focus on our lives beyond the classroom. I hope that each of us are able to take the opportunity to fulfill our needs and attend to the corners of our lives that can be distanced during the school year’s zenith. Have a great break, and we will see you again in the fourth quarter!

In solidarity,

Charles Cooper

Help win the pension reform we deserve!

We have bills in each chamber poised for debate! Each bill is bipartisan, with authors from both the Republican and Democratic parties (including EdMN/EPEA-endorsed Representative Alex Falconer). Right now, legislators are scrambling to add their names to support the bills, which has led to the introduction of clones in each chamber. Our representatives are lining up to support giving our teachers what they deserve: a fully-funded pension that allows us to retire with the same dignity our community holds for us.

We need your help to make sure our legislators continue their support for our retirement. Our bills are heading for a hearing at the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement, a bicameral committee representing the MN House and Senate. The LCPR must pass the current bill(s) prior to votes in the House and Senate, so, let's help the committee members understand the importance of an unreduced career rule of 60 years old and 30 years of service.

Write an email (or even a real letter) to LCPR members and ask them to support our bill.
Join a phone bank on April 3 at 5:30 to encourage other EdMN members across the state to reach out to their legislators.
Pack the house on April 8 (tentative) to show support for the bill’s reading in the LCPR.

Become an EPEA Site Representative

Our Site Reps are our union’s main point of contact within our sites. They host monthly membership meetings at their sites, and they represent their colleagues in the EPEA Representative Congress every month. These are the voices that work directly with our building administrators to advocate for our colleagues and our students. If you are the type of person your colleagues rely on or look to for answers, then you are the perfect candidate for Site Representative. Site Representatives must be an EPEA member for at least two years and hold a continuing contract (tenure). If you would like to become a Site Rep, contact Mike Woizeschke.

Last Call: Negotiations Input Survey

Our membership survey for negotiations has been open for nearly a month, and it looks like many of our members have already submitted their ideas for contractual improvements. If you have thought of something new to suggest, haven’t quite found the time to submit your ideas yet, or if this is the first time you are hearing about the survey, responses remain open until Spring Break. Negotiations are some of our most important work, so make sure your voice is heard!

Link to previous EPEA Newsletters

Link to EPEA Staff and Leaders

Link to EPEA Contract

Guidance from Your Member Rights Advocate

If you are in need of support at an administration meeting, believe there is a contract violation, or have a performance/conduct-related support request, please connect with Carla Thompson

(Lead MRA) cthompson@edenpr.org or 952-240-6577

Member Benefits:

Built In Benefits With Membership

ESI PerksConnect - discounts to area activities and restaurants
NEA Discount Marketplace - discount tickets and travel programs
NEA Mental Health Program
AFT Trauma counseling program

Trump abandons public education, issues order to shut down USDOE

President Donald Trump abandoned public education in America with an executive order to dissolve the U.S. Department of Education.

We expect the courts will quickly block this latest executive order because the president lacks the authority to shut down the USDOE without an act of Congress. However, the president’s anti-education message was clear.

Minnesota’s E-12 schools depend on more than $500 million a year in federal education funding, especially for special education services. Nationwide, the gutting of the USDOE has an approximate $28 billion impact to our two- and four-year colleges. Losing that money will harm every student and educator. It would pass more of the cost of providing public education to local taxpayers. The biggest challenge facing Minnesota’s schools is the staffing crisis and the best ways to fix it are by improving the pay, pensions and health care of educators. This attack on public schools could not come at a worse time for Minnesota students.

We will debut a new set of ads next week that addresses this issue. Stay tuned for more details on that. And please share your story with us if you or your program have been impacted by USDOE cuts.

Read EdMN President Specht’s complete response here.

Caution regarding outside vendors

Heads up: EdMN has heard from at least one Minnesota local, and several local unions across the country have also alerted NEA, about an email from a group called PangeaGlobe Limited. The company claims to be working with NEA Today and is sending emails to folks at state affiliates. Some of the emails have come from Victor Lanza (victorlanza@pangeaglobeinsider.com) and started with the following language:

We are partnering with the National Education Association to develop a special series of articles highlighting educational institutions and showcasing visionary leaders who are shaping the future of education across the country in neaToday magazine.

NEA is NOT working with this group in any capacity. Please exercise caution and know that any communications you receive about NEA Today, or other work connected with NEA, will come directly from EdMN, NEA or other approved vendors we have previously notified you about.

Supporting Becker local in choosing union!

In the Becker local, a group of potential members have filed a challenge of exclusive representation through the BMS. This other group appears to be getting funding and support from anti-union groups such as the Freedom Foundation and the Center for the American Experiment.

We have strong local leadership in the Becker Education Association, with a member cohort of more than 20 "BEA Champions" who are working hard on getting accurate information out to their members and having one-to-one conversations with everyone before a vote happens late this month or in early April.

Let's show them that locals and members across the state have BEA's back! Please work with your own leaders and members to send pictures, videos and messages of support for BEA. There are two ways to do this:

Email your messages, pics or videos to supportBEA@edmn.org.
Use this easy online form to show your support.

March 24 School Board Meeting

The Eden Prairie School Board convened for the primary purpose of approving bond sales and hearing initial budget forecasts/assumptions for the 2025-26 school year. The sale of bonds were approved in the principal amount of $9,610,000. The interest rate is set at 3.14%, which is lower than the 3.84% estimate delivered in January. The sale of bonds will provide the district with $10,110,570 for construction projects. These projects will primarily target the Valley View property as the district attempts to transform a former office building into a functioning school property for TASSEL, ABE, and ALC programs alongside a permanent home for EPO administration/staff. The district will ultimately buy back the funds by 2033 for a total expense of $12,755,925, which will be covered by levy costing.

The district also presented the board with initial budget assumptions for the 2025-25 school year. The state has finalized a funding increase to the basic formula of 2.74%, which is tied directly to CPI because of EdMN’s lobbying efforts in the last legislative cycle. The district’s budget assumptions include more than $3.5 million dollars in federal funds. As the Trump administration moves to shutter the US Department of Education, reasonable observers would question the reliability of these funds. If disrupted, the district would stand to lose 2.5% of its income next year.

The budgetary assumptions also presented enrollment projections, which provide the foundation for state funding. The district projects an enrollment of 8,890 students, which is a reduction of 33 students compared to the October projections. Kindergarten enrollment, which is the foundation for the next decade-plus of the district’s funding, is projected at 545. EPO programming continues to provide for enrollment growth with a growth rate of 13.6% projected for next year (625 students). The district's assumptions will “maintain the investment of lower class sizes at the elementary level” while providing for an 8-period day at CMS featuring a “team planning period for staff … in addition to their prep time” and maintaining the block schedule at EPHS. The board was presented class size targets as follows:

K-1st Grade = 20 students
2nd Grade = 22 students
3-4th Grade = 25 students
5th Grade = 26 students

The secondary staffing model relies on student rations, and the following were presented to the board:

6th Grade = 28:1
7th-8th Grade = 31:1
9th-12th Grade = 31.5:1

The board also approved the release of 35 probationary teachers across the district. Our EPEA would like to thank these teachers for the services they continue to provide our students and families. In this teacher shortage, we are confident these teachers will find gainful employment, and we are hopeful they will be able to return to our schools during the public hiring round.