Augsburg College will host “Funding Minnesota’s Future: State Government and its Partnership with School Districts and Communities,” the 10th Sabo Symposium, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., March 13, in Hoversten Chapel.

The event will feature Myron Frans, the Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue.

“Frans will be speaking on the real implications Minnesota schools and communities will see relative to Governor Dayton’s proposed budget,” said Garry Hesser, professor and Sabo chair for citizenship and learning.

A bipartisan conversation will follow the presentation by Frans, and two respondents will discuss their perspectives. Alexandria Mayor Sara Carlson will address the state-city relationship.

The second respondent, Peggy Ingison, will talk about the state-school district relationship. Ingison is the former chief financial officer of Minneapolis Public Schools, and she “can respond informatively as to what action is needed by schools depending on the size and type of state budget put forward,” according to Hesser.

The conversation between Frans, Carlson, and Ingison will be moderated by Tom Berg, author of Minnesota’s Miracle: Learning from the Government that Worked, and Martin Olav Sabo ’59, Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District representative in the U.S. House for 28 years and Sabo Center for Citizenship and Learning namesake.

Sabo Center for Citizenship and Learning

The is an important contributor to Augsburg’s mission to educate informed citizens. The Sabo Center was established in 2009 and since has connected the College to the greater community. The Sabo Center is a hub for public outreach with , the Center for Democracy and Citizenship, Bonner Leaders Program, Minnesota Campus Compact, , and other initiatives that stimulate and reinforce the role of higher education in promoting active citizenship.

“We want Augsburg students to engage in public policy issues and consider how elected officials and public servants play a critical role in that process,” Hesser said. “Our three panelists at the Sabo Symposium are exemplary people who have devoted much of their professional careers to public service.”

The Sabo Symposium is co-sponsored by: the Sabo Center for Citizenship and Learning, Environmental Studies Department, Economics Department, Political Science Department, Social Work Department, Sociology Department, Business Department, Metro-Urban Studies Department, and the Master of Arts in Leadership Program.

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By Jenny Pinther ’15 with Wendi Wheeler ’06

The spring 2012 Sabo Center Symposium featured two Minnesota task force members in a discussion about how to spend $100 million on racial integration programs in the metro area public schools. Peter A. Swenson and Scott Thomas were the co-chairs of the task force who spoke at Augsburg’s Sabo Symposium.

Their discussion was moderated by educational leaders Bill Green, Augsburg professor of history who also served on the task force, and Nan Skelton, director emerita of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship.

The panel discussed the trails of serving on a task force with very divided viewpoints. Swanson and Thomas said that while the task force worked together as a team, the sides were not without disagreement. Thomas, a man who identifies as mied race, explained that he is a “product of integration.” His belief was that the $100 million should contribute to transportation in the form of voluntary bussing between school districts to encourage integration.

Swanson, however, had other concerns. “Are we using the money that is making the problem [of segregation] worse?” he said. “If people should want to be involved with people like them, how much should the government be involved with that?”

Martin Sabo ’38 thanked the panelists and commended the co-chairs for their patience with opposing points of view: “The difference is that this task force started with a question, not an answer. Too many people believe they have all the answers,” he said.

The Sabo Symposium is co-sponsored by: the Sabo Center for Citizenship and Learning, Communication Studies, Education, Honors program, Political Science, Bonner Leaders, and the Minnesota Urban Debate League.

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