Gov. Mark Dayton prepares for a 1 pm news conference on Wednesday after signing 20 bills, vetoing two and leaving two with no action, including a tax bill containing significant opportunities for Greater Minnesota schools. When the legislature adjourned session on May 22, the Governor received extra time to review legislation that’s passed in the final three days of that session. … Read More
2016 Session Closes with Help for Rural Communities
The Minnesota Legislature worked until the last allowable minute of the 2016 session. Two major pieces of legislation crossed the legislative finish line and are on their way to Governor Dayton’s desk for his signature into law. A $258 million tax cut bill and a $182 million supplemental budget bill made it just under the Sunday midnight deadline for passing bills. … Read More
Funding Approved: Early Learning, Concurrent Enrollment, Support Services
The Legislature passed a $182 million supplemental budget before the midnight deadline that included funding for early learning and several provisions requested by rural education interests. Early Learning The biggest piece of the E-12 pie is inclusion of a general education pre-K program with $25 million awarded in fiscal year ’17 to districts who apply and and meet certain criteria. A … Read More
Voluntary PreK Funding: Calculate Program Impact
Voluntary PreKindergarten Funding is a top priority in education funding for Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and the Senate. MREA partnered with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) to create an Estimator Tool to help school leaders calculate the financial impact on their school district. Districts would need to decide by July 1 whether to apply for funding for the 2016-17 school year … Read More
Progress Update on MREA Platform Issues
The House and Senate are each bringing finance and policy proposals that MREA supports to end of session negotiations. Here’s a snapshot of some of the provisions, organized by the issues outlined on MREA’s 2016 legislative platform: Facility Fallout The House tax cut package contains an Agricultural school bond credit of 50 percent. MREA is in strong support of this … Read More
House, Senate Begin Negotiations
With four weeks left in the session, the House and Senate begin debating their respective supplemental budget proposals and pass them off the floor of each body. A supplemental budget conference committee then will begin sorting through the similarities and differences between the two bodies’ budget priorities in addition to what Governor Dayton wants in the final package in order to attain his … Read More
Technology, Teacher Recruitment Top Priorities in Omnibus Bill
The House and Senate Education Committees passed their education finance bills on schedule last week. They neatly bracket the Governor’s target of $60.77 million. The Senate’s budget tops $100.5 million, while the House spends $52 million. Both bodies assume that several districts with Capital loans will repay their loans thus providing the state with an infusion of $52 million. Even … Read More
House Releases Budget, Senate to Follow
The House GOP released its E-12 target late last week with a focus on one-time funding. The Senate will follow with its plan this week. The House Plan The House proposal focuses on creating $53 million in one-time funding by offering favorable refinancing of facility debt for several Capital Loan districts. The plan assumes seven districts will take advantage of this … Read More
Governor's Budget Focuses on Early Learning, Teacher Recruitment
The Governor’s Supplemental Budget focuses 95 percent of the $39 million in ongoing appropriations on early learning and teacher recruitment. The centerpiece is a $25-million voluntary, formula funded at .6 APU, 350 hours per year PreK program for four year olds. Next in line is a $12 million for teacher recruitment programs for teacher candidates from under-represented populations and para-professionals in … Read More
Governor’s Budget Focuses on Early Learning, Teacher Recruitment
The Governor’s Supplemental Budget focuses 95 percent of the $39 million in ongoing appropriations on early learning and teacher recruitment. The centerpiece is a $25-million voluntary, formula funded at .6 APU, 350 hours per year PreK program for four year olds. Next in line is a $12 million for teacher recruitment programs for teacher candidates from under-represented populations and para-professionals in … Read More