Many countries have longer school years than Minnesota and other states.

The longer school year proposal is worthy of consideration.

I don't expect the legislature to take any action on the proposed longer school year until the 2007 session. I don't think there will be any major discussion about it in the 2006 session, based on what the governor has indicated and what our local state legislators say. I expect more discussion about it in the 2007 session.

Brantley has been around it forever. His dad wrestled in high school and college. He's a student of wrestling. He watches college tapes, old Iowa tapes. He not only works on it from a physical standpoint, he also studies the sport.

Service is an integral part of our school community. Students are involved in countless programs during the school year. This is our attempt to continue that commitment through the summer.

Every seat on that bus was piled high with bags of school supplies - people were unbelievably generous. As I walked down the school bus aisle, which I haven't done for quite a few years, I remembered how I took my education for granted.