Teachers hear about accountability and fewer students in coming decades

October 18, 1973 - Both teacher unions, the MEA and MFT, are holding conventions. Speaker Richard Foster at the MEA asked whether accountability will create change or not. At the MFT meeting Senate Majority Leader Nick Coleman said a recent error discovered in state birth projections means some 300,000 fewer students will be in elementary and secondary schools in the 1980's and 1990's. He remarked the teacher/pupil ratio would have to be cut to just over eleven to one to employ the current number of teachers, and that won?t happen. In ten years we won?t need the state college system as it presently exists as there won?t be that many students. Plans should be made now to deal with that reality.