With the second bill deadline behind them, Minnesota legislators left St. Paul on Friday for their traditional spring break. This is a time for legislators to get back to their districts and get a reality check on what they’ve been working on. We hope that school leaders will take some time to reach out to their legislators to talk about … Read More
Governor Dayton: A Legacy of Early Learning
If there was a remaining doubt in your mind about the Governor’s seriousness toward expanding universal four-year old preschool, check out his news release from Friday. It appears Governor Dayton has decided his legacy won’t just be all-day kindergarten but a wholesale expansion four-year-old preschool with an aim of making it a universal program in a few short years. Questions … Read More
Omnibus Education Policy Bills Advance
The Senate E12 Committee dug the Senate’s omnibus education bill, SF1495, last week. Along with several other items, the bill from Chairman Wiger would ease the requirement for teachers who have not passed the required basic skills test. They would be able to obtain up to four, rather than the current two, one-year temporary teaching licenses, and the bill requires a streamlined … Read More
LOR Equalization Leaves Out Poorest Districts
The equalization of Local Optional Revenue does not reach some of the poorest school districts in the state. The property wealth of school districts in the Central Lakes and Northeast Minnesota regions are among the highest in the state, and yet they have almost no relation to median income or Free and Reduced Lunch Percentages. In these 23 school districts the Referendum Market … Read More
House Reauthorization Stalls in Washington
The National Rural Education Advocacy Coalition (NREAC) in Washington reports that the House reauthorization has stalled. H.R. 5 is currently being held. Republican members are being pressured to vote against the bill, and Democrats are expected to oppose the bill as written. The Senate is still working on a bipartisan bill. The current schedule is to mark up the bill in committee the … Read More
ECFE Fund Transfers Permitted This Year
Many rural school districts are running up balances in Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) budgets and deficits in School Readiness budgets. For this fiscal year only, districts in this situation can request the Commissioner of Education to approve the transfer of funds from ECFE to School Readiness. Because both ECFE and School Readiness funds are “within” the Community Service Fund (Fund 4), these transfers … Read More
Gaining Support for Ag2School
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
Budget Plans Begin to Hatch
As the policy deadlines loom the discussion about respective budget plans is starting to emerge. With a $1.9 billion surplus in hand the debate about education should be a matter of how much and where to spend it. The House Ways & Means Committee meets Monday morning to take testimony on what should be the upper limits of spending by … Read More
Education Policy Shaping Up As Deadlines Loom
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
Dropout Prevention Forum Coming to MN in April
The 2015 National Forum on Dropout Prevention for Native and Tribal Communities will feature more than 50 presentations emphasizing strategies that work with native students who are at risk of dropping out of school before high school graduation. The forum, “Building Engaging Educational Communities for Native Students,” will be held April 26-29 in Prior Lake. Dr. Sandra J. Fox, who received … Read More