Posted at: 09/02/2009 7:17 PM
Updated at: 09/03/2009 8:18 AM
By: Sarah Swistak

Print Story  Email to a Friend

Counselor Crunch in Local Schools

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- Students in Minnesota are crunching, not with exams or tests, but with staffing levels.
 
A new report, released by Minnesota 2020, says there's a major counselor crunch, caused by shrinking budgets and increasing demand.

Nationwide, the student to counselor ratio is 450 to 1, but here in Minnesota it's 800 to 1 - making Minnesota the second worst in the nation.

"I'm embarrassed. And part of it is - you go to national things and "oh you're from Minnesota. And that's - you hear that number," says Robin Alcaca-Saner.

A number that is now taking a toll on the students.

"There becomes a point where how effective can the counselors be - I mean, when you have 800 students that you're trying to work with?" says Darren Saner.

The problem is two-fold. 

It starts with the budget.

"The only way we're going to have a quality education system is if we invest in it and it's clear that if you've got 800 to 1 student to counselor ratio, you're not investing in education," says John Fitzgerald.

Governor Pawlenty deferred nearly 1.8 billion dollars from K-12 education through the 2011 school year.

Minnesota 2020 says as the budget shrinks so does the staff levels.

Meaning counselors have more work to do with less.

"I just think it's sad that there's so many - there is so many things we could be helping students with that we're not. So many needs that we could meet," says Jennifer Finch-Mitchell.

This problem has been brewing since the early 90’s and it's unlikely to be solved any time soon, but that doesn't mean these counselors will stop trying.

"We’re going to keep working our tails off to meet the kid's needs and that you can guarantee from school counselors," says Alcaca-Saner.

Even though the nationwide average is 450 students to one counselor, the ideal number is 250 to 1, so schools all across the US. still have a long way to go.

Minnesota 2020 says another major problem, is that Minnesota counselors are spending anywhere from ten to thirty school days preparing for or administering standardized tests.

That's time that they're forced to spend away from students who may need their help.