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
AMI "Success" Funding Needs Advocacy
Success for the Future (SftF) is included in both the Senate and House Omnibus Education Bills, although at levels far less than the $14.8M in Governor Dayton’s proposal. It is important that AMI schools continue to advocate with their Senator and Representative(s) that an increase in SftF funding and making SftF a permanent categorical source of funding is a high priority for … 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
MREA Calls for Fall Conference Proposals
MREA is now accepting presentation proposals for its 2015 Annual Conference, Great Beginnings: When Learning Starts Early, Inspires, Applies. The conference will be held Sunday-Tuesday, November 15-17, at Cragun’s Resort near Brainerd. The deadline to submit a proposal is 5 pm Wednesday, June 3. Learn more about submitting a proposal. Share Effective Practices The 2015 MREA Annual Conference is a chance to share an effective practice … Read More
US Senate Committee Approves ESEA Rewrite
“In a calculated and largely fireworks-free markup of a bipartisan Elementary and Secondary Education Act rewrite, members of the U.S. Senate education committee approved the ESEA Rewrite 22-0 Thursday amid much back-slapping and promises to continue working across the aisle.” (Education Week, Politics K-12, April 16, 2015) Noelle Ellerson of NREAC and AASA began her summary this way: The bill numbered … Read More
MREA Announces Conference Keynote
The importance of early childhood education to the state and nation’s futures has taken center stage recently, with Governor Dayton and President Obama proposing funding to provide more young children with stimulating early learning environments. The U.S. Department of Education also just released a report showing the need for high-quality public preschool education options across the nation. To prepare for this increased focus on early learning, join MREA … Read More
New Report Shows Need for Preschool Options
The U.S. Department of Education recently released a report showing a growing need for high-quality public preschool options across the nation. The report, A Matter of Equity: Preschool in America, shows that of the four million 4-year-olds in the United States, about 60 percent—or nearly 2.5 million—are not enrolled in publicly funded preschool programs, including state preschool programs, Head Start and … 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
MREA Comments on Proposed Integration Rule
MREA submitted written comments on the possible Amendment to Rules Governing School Desegregation/Integration. The 2013 Legislature amended the Achievement and Integration Statutes 124D.861 and 124D.862. The Minnesota Department of Education created an advisory group and proposed rules to implement these statutes. MREA supports the overall direction of these rules to count American Indian (AMI) students among the protected classes of students … Read More