Education Minnesota has already spent $565,763 to lobby the legislature this year and their efforts paid off as the K-12 budget was increased by $525 million over the next two years which exceeded Governor Dayton’s original $373 million request. About $450,000 of the lobbying expenditure was spent on media advertisements pushing for increased funding to pay for the Governor’s universal PreK program for all Minnesota 4-year-olds. The program didn’t pass, which would have increased union membership by nearly 5,000 members. The 70,000-member union reported twenty-seven lobbyists in its most recent report to the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board.
Of these lobbyists, many are making six-figure salaries at Education Minnesota according to 2013 numbers:
David Aron, Attorney, $97,771
Darrell Baty, Field Staff $119,664
Nicole Blissenbach, Attorney, $103,475
Jodee Buhr, Lobbyist $98,478
Andrea Cecconi, Research Specialist, $107,624
Debra Corhouse, Attorney, $124,781
Douglas Dooher, Public Affairs Specialist $113,512 (brother of Education Minnesota President Thomas Dooher)
Sarah Ford, Higher Education Staff, $88,798
Garnet Franklin, Ed Issues Specialist, $117,116
Jane Gilles, Ed Issues Specialist, $97,035
Jess Anna Glover, Attorney, $106,265
James Haggar, Political Action Specialist, $82,677
James Meyer, State Political Org, $102,362
Paul Mueller, Vice President, $146,245
Mary Perry, Ed Issues Specialist, $96,701
Brandon Rettke, Director Public Affairs, $139,343
Rodney Rowe, Treasurer, $21,600
Denise Specht, President, $31,019
Gary Westorff, Director Field Services, $158,802
Paul Winkelaar, Mobilization Specialist, $91,812
(Seven registered Education Minnesota lobbyists didn’t have salary information listed as of 2013 per UnionFacts)
In addition to their lobbying efforts, Education Minnesota spent nearly $3 million during the 2014 election cycle to help elect union-friendly candidates.
The Minnesota Department of Education released numbers this week which showed no overall student improvement in math, reading, or science in standardized tests. Only 60% of students met state math and reading standards. Will another half-a-billion dollars into the system that produced these results pay off? Taxpayers will have to wait and see.