MREA commends the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and all those in rural Minnesota who worked to secure state grants totaling $19.4 million from the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program. DEED recently awarded the funding from the program, which Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law in May of 2014. The grants will help 17 entities in Minnesota develop … Read More
New Bills Introduce Rural STEM Project
MREA commends Senator Tom Saxhaug (District 05) and Representative Jeff Backer (District 12A) for introducing legislation to provide funding for the Rural STEM Experiential Learning Pilot Project: “Put 21st Century Tools in Kids’ Hands!” (SF 471/HF 555). The bills provide for one-time funding to start two consortiums of school districts in West Central Minnesota and North East/East Central Minnesota. The consortiums will develop and … Read More
MREA Supports Success for Future Expansion
MREA applauds Governor Dayton for addressing the educational achievement and opportunity gap of Minnesota’s American Indian Students (AMI) by proposing an expansion of Success for the Future. This expansion is called for in the 2015 MREA Platform. Minnesota’s AMI students have the lowest graduation rate and the slowest growth in that graduation rate of all ethnic/racial groups. Minnesota is dead … Read More
Group Recommends Merging TDE and Q Comp
Recommendations from a state work group last week call the Minnesota to combine the Teacher Development and Evaluation (TDE) and Q Comp statutes. The Minnesota Department of Education work group on “Teacher Development and Evaluation/Alternative Teacher Professional Pay System Alignment” presented their recommendations to the House Education Finance Committee. Merging the 2011 evaluation law with Q Comp would create a single … 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
Governor Releases Education Plan
Governor Dayton released his proposed budget for the FY 16-17 biennium that would invest $343 million in education. Here’s a look inside the Governor’s plan for education: An increase to the general education formula by 1 percent in each year of the biennium, for a total cost of $174.4 million. Providing $109 million to expand four-year old preschool across the state. The Governor’s plan … Read More
Urban-Rural Divide Grows Wider in Minnesota
The Star Tribune on Sunday published an article on the deepening urban-rural divide in Minnesota. The article comes after MREA released two maps, median household income and Free and Reduced Lunch (FRE), illustrating the issue. View the Star Tribune article. The map on median household income by school districts in the state reveals a 43 percent difference between rural and metro districts. Fifteen Greater Minnesota … Read More
Newly Elected Directors Join MREA Board
MREA’s Board of Directors will see new and familiar faces at its next Board meeting, thanks to MREA membership who elected two new directors and re-elected two directors to the Board during elections in December 2014. The Board also appointed a new director at its December 2014 meeting. New Directors Todd Holthaus, Administrator Representative, South Zone (1-yr. term) Holthaus was appointed by the MREA Board … Read More
Thanks for Visiting MREA at MSBA
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the MREA booth at the MSBA Leadership Conference last week. Representatives from 65 MREA member schools visited with MREA Board members Luther Heller, Todd Holthaus, Marvin Kleven, Chris Mills, Patty Stangl, and Mike Vasek at the booth and at the Regional Center Advisory Committee meeting. Members shared how much they are looking forward to the Annual Conference next … Read More
MREA Releases Map on Household Income By Minnesota School Districts
MREA released a map today illustrating median household income by school district in Minnesota. The map reveals a wide rural-metro divide with the state’s wealthiest district’s median income more than five times the amount of the poorest district. Nine of the 12 districts with the lowest median household income in Minnesota serve a significant number of American Indian children. The … Read More