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
Facility Fallout Fix in Senate Plan
As it left the Senate E-12 Budget Division last week, the Senate E-12 Finance bill includes a major proposal aimed at expanding long term maintenance funding to the over 300 school districts that don’t qualify for the Alternative Facilities program. The E-12 bill would allow districts to levy $200 per pupil in 2017 and $300 and $400 per pupil in … 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
New Limits Set on Referendum and Special Elections
A bill passed that would force districts to hold all spending referendums on Election Day. HF922, sponsored by Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa), would specifically target the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November as the only date a local unit of government could hold certain types of special elections or referendum elections that ask voters for spending increases. School districts … 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
Governor Focuses on Early Education in State of State
In just over 30 minutes on Thursday, Governor Mark Dayton outlined some of the facts and public kudos that point to Minnesota’s economic success among other states. He called upon the legislature to act boldly on education, water quality and transportation. His education comments focused on increased early learning programming and investments. Dayton challenged those who continue to argue taxes are … 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
Disparity Aid Proposed for Low Property Wealth Districts
Legislators are reviewing a bill that allots disparity aid for school districts with low property wealth in Minnesota. The bill would provide mostly exurban districts that have low general education revenue and property wealth per pupil with general education disparity aid allowance based on their adjusted net tax capacity per adjusted pupil unit. Some rural schools would qualify – those include Foley, … Read More
$22 Million Proposed for Concurrent Enrollment
A bill presented last week in the House would provide $22 million over the next two years for all schools to expand concurrent enrollment or College in the Schools programing. The bill requires participation and expenditure information for career and technical education courses offered as a concurrent enrollment course. It allows 9th and 10th grade students to apply to enroll in a … Read More