A Goodview teacher was presented with a check for over 13-thousand dollars donated by fellow instructors at last month's National Education Association convention.
                
The money was donated to cover Matt Reuter's lost pay the Winona teacher sustained while he was on active duty in Afghanistan for a year.

When Rueter returned home a year ago he learned the Winona School District, under an obscure state law, was forced to deduct the amount it paid to Rueter's substitute teachers from Reuter's salary...and that resulted in a loss of 11-thousand-300 dollars.

Reueter said he was shocked by his fellow teacher's reaction.

Rueter brought the problem to the attention of Governor Mark Dayton who mentioned it to the N-E-A convention delegates when Dayton made an appearance in front of them last month. Winona's 2011 Minnesota Teacher of theYear, Katy Smith, also lobbied Dayton for a change in the state law, which the legislature approved last spring.

As a result of Dayton's speech, the N-E-A delegates took up a collection for Rueter and the check for 13-thousand-528 dollars was formally presented to him Friday by Education Minnesota President Tom Dooher......
 

              Dooher also said the Obama administration is looking at similar laws in other states and is considering lobbying for changes across the country.
              Dooher said quote, "a pebble dropped in Winona and now it is beginning to spread on a national level".....
              The old law affected only teachers in Minnesota and no other workers