MREA released a map today showing the tax relief and equalization or EAR. Education Enhancement Revenue (EAR) – SF 177 as amended- provides, Tax Relief, Tax Equalization, and Closing the 5th to 95th Gap in Funding per Student. A thumbnail is provided below. View this interactive map by clicking here. What does EAR do? Provides a base $300 per student … Read More
Open Enrollment Map: Students on Move in Minnesota
Where are the students going, where are they coming from, in Minnesota’s Open Enrollment? MREA released a map today to help answer those questions. Minnesota has had open enrollment for over two decades. The map aims to identify any patterns to the student movement. To display trends, the map shows student movement in and out of any district as a … Read More
Legislature Back from Break with Battle Brewing
After taking a spring break last week, the 2013 legislature is about to pick up where they left off. With the policy deadlines behind us, the focus of the session now turns to the major finance committees. Over the next two weeks, these finance committees will work with the budget targets their leaders gave them to come up with omnibus … Read More
House and Senate Release Budget Targets
The House and Senate released budget targets last week for all of their finance committees. In the House, the Education Finance committee received the largest target of any committee in the legislature. The House DFL leadership decided to give Chairman Paul Marquart $550 million to spend. Inside Both Plans By comparison, the Senate gave Chairman Chuck Wiger $336 million to … Read More
What's Happening With Education Advancement Revenue
Senator Rod Skoe (DFL Clearbrook) leads the Senate Tax committee and as part of the overall Senate budget plan, he worked to send $150 million of the $463 million in property tax relief to the education budget. Last Thursday, he presented an amended version of SF 177 to the Senate E-12 Budget Division. SF 177, as amended, would combine equalization … Read More
Legislature Takes Spring Break
The legislature has cleared the second bill deadline and left town for Spring Break. The legislators reconvene session at noon on Tuesday, April 2. When they return the budget committees begin the scramble to assemble their omnibus bills. We are told the House and Senate education bills will be made public early in the week of April 8. All major … Read More
Major Education Policy Reforms Survive First Bill Deadline
Last Thursday the House and Senate Education Policy committees put together omnibus education policy bills. Several major reforms made it into those House and Senate policy bills. There are always differences between House and Senate policy positions, but this year those differences are more nuance than substance. Here’s a look at what the current bills would mean: Grad Tests High-stakes … Read More
School Facilities Financing Moves Forward
The House Education Finance committee reviewed two bills last week that would assist schools in paying for building maintenance. HF 825 was amended so that the Safe Schools levy could be used to pay for upgrades needed to make buildings more secure. Unfortunately, the bill does not raise the amount that can be levied which currently is $30 per pupil. … Read More
Governor’s Budget Adjustments and Legislative Budget Targets
MREA reported last week that Governor Dayton was backing away from two major components of his tax reform and budget plan. The business-to-business sales tax expansion is dead unless the Senate DFL chooses to pick it up. House DFL leaders had backed away from it from the start. The Governor’s homeowner rebate is dead as well. The combined effect nets … Read More
Special Education Funding Formula Reform
A major recommendation of the Education Finance Working Group was Special Education Funding Reform. The working group made four recommendations: Significantly increase special education aid to reduce cross subsidies Replace the current expenditure reimbursement formula with a new formula based partly on school district enrollment and number of students in high-cost, low-incidence special education programs Improve the special education excess cost … Read More