Town meeting focused on hospitals, foster grandparents and K-12 education

State Representative Doug Stang and State Senator Michelle Fischbach held a town meeting at Kimball City Hall on Friday, March 7. The purpose of the meeting was for the legislators to hear how their constituents were feeling about various items happening in St. Paul. Because of the recent state budget deficit, many of the citizens came concerned about funding that was being cut from various programs. The two most vocal groups at the meeting were representatives from the St. Cloud Hospital and foster grandparents from around the area. The hospital group was worried about the possibility of building another care center in the Sartell area. They felt that this would spread the state dollar too thinly between many groups. Part of their argument was that the state is already having trouble finding qualified personnel to serve in these facilities. By opening another care center in the area, it would create more job vacancies. They also discussed how another medical center would only duplicate services that are already offered. When asked to take a stance on the issue, Sen. Michelle Fischbach said, “I am undecided as of right now. There are a lot of issues that we are looking at, and I am hearing from both sides on this.” Fischbach mentioned, “we are spending a lot of time on this issue and going through the information.” Rep. Doug Stang did not add much comment on this issue since it did not directly affect his district; however, he said that he was leaning toward favoring one hospital over two. The foster grandparents were well represented at the meeting and questioned the funding that was being cut from their program. The role of foster grandparents is to go into schools and serve as an aid for teachers, by helping students with assignments, controlling and supervising classrooms, and serving as a source of support for students. The program is labeled a volunteer program, but grandparents who partake are rewarded with a small stipend of $2.65/hour for their work. Most foster grandparents work about 20 hours a week in early childhood to senior high classrooms. The group was concerned about Gov. Pawlenty’s proposed cuts to this program as most of the seniors use this money to pay for various expenses including food and prescription costs. They are worried if funding is cut, most of the seniors in this position will not be able to afford these basic necessities.    In response to their concern, Rep. Stang said, “Governor Pawlenty’s thought was if it is a volunteer program, why are we paying people to volunteer?” Stang stated that he agreed with the governor, but felt that if seniors really saw this program as a job, then it needed to be dealt with as an employment option and not be called a volunteer program. Stang also indicated, “The governor feels that if this is a source of your income, that is an issue we need to focus on more.” Public education was also discussed at the meeting. One citizen talked about how he felt sad – he and his children had benefited from public education – but he could not provide these services to children today, in the way that they were provided to him and his children. Rep. Stang said that this was a legitimate concern, but as time has gone on, there are more services and options to provide for students. As more options unfold, students and parents are expecting more from public education, but schools and the state just don’t have the funds to compensate for all of these services and various activities. Stang pointed out that he was disappointed in how differently children were treated across the state and how school districts with more money have better services because their community is more supportive of their children’s education. He also indicated that the budget deficit is allowing the state a great opportunity to look at funding that districts receive. A few other citizens voiced concerns about programs or services that they directly worked with, including the battered women’s shelter, the state health care system and higher education. The legislators addressed these concerns and also encouraged these constituents to set up individual meetings so they could thoroughly discuss these topics. Rep. Stang and Sen. Fischbach also encouraged anyone who could not attend the meeting to address any concerns to their legislators. For information on how to contact your legislators, check your phone book, search the Internet, or call Tri-County News at (320) 398-5000.