March madness is in full swing at the state Capitol. This Monday marks the beginning of the first bill deadline. By Friday policy bills must clear their respective policy committees in order to be viable to continue on this session. Traditionally there’s an omnibus education policy bill and that’s true this year as well. The House and Senate education policy … Read More
MREA Presents Facility Fallout Solution
MREA is gaining support for a facility fallout solution that would address the deferred maintenance funding inequities in Minnesota. The inequities between the Alternative Facility school districts (large metro primarily) and all others is well documented. Legislators of all stripes have at the tip of their tongue the $2.79 per square foot versus $0.58 per square foot differential in spending power … Read More
Ag2School Maps
MREA developed a series of maps that illustrate the challenges behind the Facility Fallout and the Ag2School Solution. Learn more about Ag2School. This maps are included in this visual slide presentation. View slide handout. View the interactive maps ANTC/APU Increased equalization is not distributed equally across the state. Ag Land Values 20% of districts have at least 75% of ANTC wealth in … Read More
Many Education Bills in the Air
MREA has been especially busy this year advocating on behalf of Greater Minnesota schools. There are a series of bills in the air. Here’s a rundown of what they are by key issue and where they stand at the Capitol as of now. Each includes the bill authors and where possible, links to their text and status at the legislature. … Read More
March Madness Ignites with $1.9 Billion Surplus
Minnesotans received positive news about their state budget on Friday from the February budget forecast. Last December the state projected a surplus for the next two years (fiscal years 16-17) of $1.04 billion. The updated forecast now estimates a surplus of $1.87 million. The $832 million in projected growth is largely due to a expected increases in income and sales tax … Read More
3 Hot Rural Issues in Senate
The Senate E-12 Committee heard legislation and testimony on three key rural education issues this past week. A brief rundown on each is provided below. Debt Service Enhanced Debt Service plans (SF 489) for consolidating districts and districts with very high debt service was heard Tuesday. Superintendent Bob Indihar of Moose Lake whose community used enhanced debt service due to natural … 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
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 Budget Webinar Recording Now Available
MREA hosted a virtual meeting today to review Governor Dayton’s budget proposal released last week. MREA Director of Legislative Action Sam Walseth discussed the budget’s impact on education in Greater Minnesota as well as legislative reaction to the proposal. In case you missed today’s meeting, here are two opportunities to catch up: Hear the discussion with Sam’s commentary and the slides. View the slide presentation only. … 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