The legislature will reconvene on Tuesday and receive Governor Dayton’s much anticipated budget plans for 2014-15. The Governor’s staff and his agency heads have been very tight lipped about what the overall plan will entail. We’ve been hearing for months about tax reform and the Governor’s goal of raising revenue on the highest income earners. Will he follow through on those promises? … Read More
PAYMENT SHIFT: Politics, Reality & First Bill
The school payment shift was a hotly contested issue in the last campaign cycle with House DFLers pounding on Republicans for their decision to utilize a large shift to help balance the current budget. Memories must be short as both parties have use payment shifts to balance previous budgets when they were in charge. In fact, payment shifts can be a … Read More
House Education Finance Committee Sets Goals
All of the education committees have met for the first time and they scratched the surface of the committee jurisdictions as the second week of the 2013 session ended. The Senate E-12 Budget Division heard from Dr. Tom Melcher from the MDE about the Education Finance Reform recommendations. The House Education Finance committee set the table for their upcoming hearings … Read More
President Announces Gun Violence Prevention Plan
President Obama announced his plans to reduce gun violence and protect children. In the president’s plan to reduce gun violence and ensure safe schools, there are several proposed funds for education, including the following: A new Comprehensive School Safety program that will give $150 million to school districts and law enforcement agencies to hire school resource officers, school psychologists, social … Read More
MREA Seeks Conference Proposals
MREA is seeking proposals for its Annual Conference in November. If you have an effective practice you want to share with MREA members on Nov. 17-19, please complete this form by Monday April 22. Learn more.
Commissioner Hosts Open House on Tax Reform Jan. 17
MREA Board Members and Superintendents attending the MSBA Leadership Conference have an excellent opportunity to connect with some of Governor Dayton’s top staff as the budget begins to be rolled out in an informal setting the Thursday evening of the MSBA Conference. Revenue Commissioner Myron Frans will host a Tax Reform Open House from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at the Department of … Read More
House Ed Finance Committee Up and Running
Chairman Paul Marquart wasted no time in getting the House Education Finance Committee together and off the ground. They met Thursday in a ‘meet and greet’ session. Chairman Marquart asked the members to outline their priorities for education this session. Almost every members, from both sides of the aisle, stated they are here to work on closing the achievement gap and creating more … Read More
SESSION BEGINS: Week 1 Down; 18 To Go
The first week of the 2013 session has come and gone and as promised, it was a slow and ceremonial start. The pace will pick up some next week as committee chairs hold hearings so members can get to know each other on their newly appointed committees. Several committees also are holding hearings to conduct overviews of their jurisdictional subject matter. Mostly, … Read More
Sen. Franken Convenes Meetings School Safety and BWCA Land Swap
Senator Al Franken held meetings on school safety and the BWCA land swap issue this week and invited MREA to both meetings. Here are reports on each of these meetings: School Safety The primary focus of the school safety meeting was how best to provide early mental health interventions and support for students. Sen. Franken cited a statistic that 50 … Read More
Minnesota 8th Graders Lead Pack in New Study
Minnesota’s 8th graders were in the lead pack of nations and states in the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) released in December. Minnesota 8th graders ranked sixth in science and seventh in the world in mathematics. About 2,500 Minnesota 8th graders in 55 schools participated in the study. Most impressive was the 15 percentage point increase made by Minnesota … Read More