By Joe Gould, Legislative Affairs Specialist Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton’s education budget was presented in bill form on Wednesday to the House Education Finance Committee. Sponsored by Committee Chair Rep. Jenifer Loon (R-Eden Prairie), HF844 reflects the governor’s goals to close the achievement gap by ramping up support for early learning, particularly for children who come from low-income families, said Education … Read More
Bringing Libraries Up to Speed
Efforts are underway to bring school and regional libraries up to speed with an increased demand for shared usage of materials and access to broadband Internet capabilities. The House Education Finance Committee reviewed the a bill Thursday. HF583, sponsored by Rep. Ron Kresha (R-Little Falls), would provide $3.3 million each year for regional library telecommunications aid and $9.75 million each year for … Read More
Leadership Academy Proposal Presented in Senate
The Senate E-12 Committee reviewed a bill last week that would provide professional development programs to school principals and other school leaders in school districts and charter schools. The bill establishes a Principals Leadership Academy at the University of Minnesota, instead of at the Minnesota State University Mankato. SF524, sponsored by Sen. Greg Clausen (DFL-Apple Valley), was laid over for possible … Read More
House Discusses Tax Credits for Education
The House Education Policy Committee on Tuesday offered proposals to create and expand tax credits for education-related expenditures that are aimed at improving K-12 outcomes for students. Most received approval nods. Rep. Dean Urdahl (R-Grove City) hopes to provide a financial incentive for teachers to pursue their master’s degree in the content area in which they teach. He sponsors HF245, which would … Read More
Bill Introduced to Continue Home Visit Program
House Education Finance Chair Jenifer Loon (R-Eden Prairie) last week introduced a bill to continue to award grants to evidence-based early literacy parent-child home visiting program. The House Education Finance is reviewing the legislation for possible inclusion in the Omnibus Bill. Parent-child home programs are designed to have instructors (called home visitors) visit families with young children (target age range of … Read More
School Readiness Bill Brought to House Committee
The Minnesota House Education Finance Committee reviewed legislation last week that would increase school readiness aid from $12 million a year to $25 million beginning in fiscal year 2016. Rep. Laurie Halverson (DFL-Eagan) introduced the bill, HF226, for possible inclusion in the Education Omnibus Bill. The bill provides funding to districts for eligible pre-kindergarten students to improve early education and ensure students … Read More
Reading Corp Bills Introduced
Legislators have brought forward legislation that would infuse additional funding into the Minnesota Reading Corps program. The bills were among the legislation reviewed last Tuesday by the House Education Finance Committee for possible inclusion in Chair Jenifer Loon’s future education omnibus bill. The other bills are related to school readiness and home visiting for parent education. Rep. Anna Wills (R-Apple … Read More
School Calendar Flexibility Heats Up at Capitol
The House Education Innovation Committee heard last week from many communities seeking flexibility from state requirements on local school calendars. Many districts are seeking waivers this coming year and longer from the requirement to start school after Labor Day. Several districts also requested the ability to maintain their current four-day school weeks. Many school boards have adopted local resolutions asking the state … Read More
Bills Introduced to Change School Building Debt Service Tax Bases
by Sam Walseth, Director of Legislative Action A group of legislators and farm organizations held a news conference on Thursday to introduce the HF 596 and SF 576 bills, which would change the local government tax base for all future school building debt service levies from Adjusted Net Tax Capacity (ANTC) to Referendum Market Value (RMV). This is being commonly referred … Read More
MREA Report Shows Impact of Property Trends on Schools
Minnesota has seen significant changes in values of its agricultural production land and seasonal recreation properties. Those changes affect the Net Tax Capacity (NTC) of school districts. This report outlines the impact and results of removing agricultural production land from school building debt levies. View the print-friendly version of the report. What’s Happening Rising Ag Land Prices: The average price per acre … Read More