Legislators were appointed last week to the committee that will negotiate many of the details of the education finance and policy provisions that have survived the process thus far and provide a shared plan for a final vote. Rep. Jennifer Loon (GOP-Eden Prairie) and Sen. Chuck Wiger (DFL-North St. Paul) will serve as co-chairs of the Education Conference Committee. View MREA’s side-by-side … Read More
Districts Face Cuts With 1&1 Funding Proposal
From Canby and Caledonia to Fergus Falls and Breckenridge, MREA members are speaking out and asking for more regarding the Minnesota legislature’s proposed general education funding increase of 1 percent each of the next two years (commonly referred to as “1&1 on the formula”). Letters to newspaper editors and community members from rural school administrators across Minnesota indicate teacher cuts, fewer class electives, and … Read More
Get Economist's Perspective on Early Learning at Conference
Two economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis proposed over a decade ago that any economic development plan needed to place early childhood development at the top of its strategies because it provided a huge economic return on investment (ROI). To give rural educators and school board members an economist’s perspective on investing in early learning, Rob Grunewald will share his and Art Rolnick’s work at MREA’s … Read More
What's in House, Senate Education Bills?
The House passed its omnibus education bill on Saturday after heavy criticism about it falling short of what is needed for education in Minnesota. The Senate omnibus education budget bill (SF 811) is expected to be heard – and passed in some form – on the floor on Wednesday. The Senate bill includes a variety of provisions to support education. View … Read More
Commissioner Talks Issues with MREA Board
Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius talked about issues that affect Greater Minnesota schools with the MREA Board of Directors on Thursday. Commissioner Cassellius shared her hopes for the session and the challenges still ahead. During the morning discussion, the Commissioner and MREA Board members reviewed a variety of issues ranging from teacher shortages and the restrictive Minnesota Teacher Licensure Exam … Read More
E-12 Plans Advance In House, Senate
The House and Senate Education finance committees last week unveiled their omnibus bills and passed them out of their respective committees. Each bill has a few more stops before full debate in front of the House and Senate and then onto conference committee. MREA created a side-by-side comparison of the funding and policy issues currently being debated at the Capitol related … Read More
MREA Announces Conference Keynote
The importance of early childhood education to the state and nation’s futures has taken center stage recently, with Governor Dayton and President Obama proposing funding to provide more young children with stimulating early learning environments. The U.S. Department of Education also just released a report showing the need for high-quality public preschool education options across the nation. To prepare for this increased focus on early learning, join MREA … Read More
E-12 Funding Bills To Emerge
Just as children are anxious the night before Christmas, so too are education lobbyists who have waited until this point of session to see what House and Senate education leaders have in store for education funding specifics this year. We know the various spending levels: the House is a $157 million and the Senate is now at $361 million. But … Read More
School Districts Share Impact of 1&1 Funding
Responding to an MREA survey, 124 school superintendents across Greater Minnesota reported the impact of the proposed 1&1 funding for education would mean larger class sizes, fewer electives and hundreds of pink slips. The report results reveal rural Minnesota can expect 160 teachers and 80 support staff to be laid off or not replaced and a total of $17.4 million in … Read More
Federal Every Child Achieves Act Introduced
Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray last week introduced the Every Child Achieves Act, the Senate HELP Committee’s bipartisan, comprehensive proposal to reauthorize ESEA. “In a nutshell, this bill is good. It takes the pendulum of federal overreach and prescription and swings it to state and local control,” said Noelle Ellerson of NREAC. “It reels back the federal hand print in … Read More