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Darrell Ehrlick’s editorial completely missed the point when he ridiculed months of work by a legislative task force and years of work by major education groups from all around the state that created a new plan to provide long-term funding reform for Minnesota schools.
Ehrlick acknowledged that the current school funding system isn’t providing schools what they need. For years, school districts have been forced to go to voters hat in hand to supplement inadequate state funding to pay for classroom basics. Just this past fall, 99 districts across the state held levy referendum elections, hoping that higher property taxes could take the sting out of budget cuts caused by state funding deficits.
As a result, school property taxes have skyrocketed, while across the state we’re seeing an increasingly disparate system of have and have-not districts, depending on their individual election day success. The growing reliance on levies speaks both to the persistent state funding shortfall and the existing disparities in the way state funds are distributed.
That’s why the Education Finance Reform Task Force crafted a plan to reform the way Minnesota schools are funded. The groundbreaking proposal, called the New Minnesota Miracle, simplifies and increases state public school funding, reduces property taxes and lays a foundation for every student to succeed when they graduate from high school. It begins a phased-in increase in school funding starting in 2010. The task force deliberately designed the package to be scalable, meaning it can be phased in over the course of several years as economic conditions and Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s resistance to new revenues allow. To lay the groundwork for this plan, this year’s House budget-balancing bill increases 2009 school funding, paying back an additional portion of the funding gap caused by 2003 budget cuts, and giving us a clean slate from which to begin phasing in the new funding model.
As for Pawlenty’s careless words about the plan, well, we’ve learned from this governor, the first in recent history to actually cut school funding, that his words of support for Minnesota schools don’t always match his actions.
Introducing funding reform for Minnesota schools this session is not a trick or
a gimmick. Knowing that such major transformation will require extensive public buy-in to be successfully implemented, we believe the discussion must begin now. Over the course of the summer and fall, House and Senate education committees
will be conducting public hearings in every corner of the state, maybe even in Winona, to share specifics
of the plan and gather public input. That way we’ll be
positioned to hit the ground running at the start of the 2009 Legislative session, backed by the strength of Minnesotans demanding change.
Implementing this plan with broad public support will put Minnesota on a clear path to 21st century leadership. It will fairly fund the needs of every student and every district so they can meet the academic expectations set for them, and ensure every high school graduate will be prepared for success whether they enter the work force or attend college or vocational school.
That’s not a trick, it’s a vision for Minnesota that would be foolish to dismiss.
Greiling, DFL-Roseville, chairs the House K-12 Education Finance Division, and co-chairs the House and Senate Education Finance Reform Task Force.
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