Monday, August 25, 2008

Fever? Medicate with a corn dog!

Just in time for the Great Minnesota Get-Together is a little health care advice. Make sure in all those steps you are walking (and no doubt logging on your flashy, trendy, go-with-anything, cheap-plastic-crap-is-the-new-black pedometer) that no harm comes to you if you are fortunate enough to attend the State Fair. You see, your school board is hard at work making Minnesota safe for the affordable corn dog, rather than the affordable urgent care visit from the regrettable results of one too many of them.

It is critical for our school board to address, in a public and meaningful way, the runaway costs of our health insurance. Yet, another legislative session went by without one instance of our school board supporting our efforts to find a solution to the rising health insurance costs that are devouring our district’s budget. Additionally, another renewal period for health insurance is upon us and still our school board remains quiet.

It is hard not to be insulted by their silence when the best collaboration they can offer is from the July 15th board meeting where they authorized a joint purchasing agreement with North Branch Area Schools “in order to further collaborative efforts and to enhance both districts’ buying power by participating in cooperative purchases, bids and contracts.”

Once again they have proven that they put a premium on saving money on corn dogs and copy paper, but they are absolutely content to turn their backs on any significant discussions on health insurance, let alone offer a solution. It is clear that they are comfortable allowing health insurance to continue festering the morale and working conditions of the member of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers.

But, hey, I bet that corn dog will go down nicely with some ketchup, and then you’ve added a vegetable.

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