FOURTEENTH MEETING

STATE OF MINNESOTA FOURTEENTH MEETING
MN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NINETY SECOND SESSION

EDUCATION FINANCE
MINUTES

Representative Jim Davnie, Chair of the Education Finance Committee, called the virtual meeting to order at 10:30am on February 10, 2021 pursuant to House rule 10.01. The meeting is being broadcast via Zoom and House Public Information Services.

The Committee Legislative Assistant noted the roll.

Members present:

DAVNIE, Jim
SANDSTEDE, Julie
KRESHA, Ron
BENNETT, Peggy
DANIELS, Brian
DEMUTH, Lisa
DRAZKOWSKI, Steve
ERICKSON, Sondra
FEIST, Sandra
JORDAN, Sydney
MARQUART, Paul
MUELLER, Patricia
RICHARDSON, Ruth
THOMPSON, John
WOLGAMOTT, Dan
XIONG, Tou
YOUAKIM, Cheryl

A quorum was present.

Rep. Jordan moved that the minutes from February 9, 2021 be approved. Motion prevailed.

HF 843 (Stephenson) General education revenue is the primary source of operating funds for Minnesota’s public schools. General education revenue pays for operating expenses of the district including employee salaries and benefits, and supply costs. For fiscal year 2021, each school district’s general education revenue is the sum of 14 components; two of which are the same per pupil unit for all districts and charter schools and 12 that vary by district demographic and geographic characteristics. The basic formula allowance is one of the two components of general education revenue that is the same amount per pupil for all school districts in the state and comprises about 70 percent of total general education revenue. The current general education basic formula allowance is $6, 567 per pupil unit. HF 843 proposes to increase the basic formula allowance by two percent per year for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 and then links future increases in the basic formula allowance to the inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

Rep. Jordan moved that HF 843 be presented before the committee; be laid over for further consideration at a later time.

Rep. Stephenson presented HF 843.

Rep. Jordan renewed the motion that HF 843 be laid over for further consideration at a later time. The bill was laid over.

HF 156 (Wolgamott) Minnesota’s K12 budget includes state aid to promise neighborhoods, achievement zones, and other community partnerships through the Education Partnership Program codified in Minnesota Statutes, section 124.99. This program supports a coalition of coordinated, education partnership providing a network of evidence-based support services designed to close opportunity gaps by improving educational and developmental outcomes of children and their families. The existing program divides the funding between Tier 1 sustaining grants and Tier 2 implementation grants. The 2019 Legislature funded two Tier 1 grants on an ongoing basis. The grants are $1.3 million per year for the Northside Achievement Zone in Minneapolis and the ST. Paul Promise Neighborhood. The 2019 Legislature provided Tier 2 grants of $250,000 per grantee for each of fiscal years 2020 and 2021 to the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative, the Jones Family Foundation for the Every Hand Joined program in Red Wing, the United Way of Central Minnesota for the Partners for Student Success program, the Austin Aspires program, and the Rochester Area Foundation for the Cradle to career program. The 2019 law set the base for Tier 2 grants at $480,000 per year, to be awarded through a competitive grant process. HF 156 adds a third tier to the program for planning and development grants and provides funding as follows: Tier 1 grants of $2.3 million per grantee per year; Tier 2 grants of $250,000 per year per grantee to the five grantees funded in the 2019 bill and adding Generation Next as a sixth grantee; and $500,000 per year for Tier 3 planning grants of up to $100,000 per grant.

Rep. Wolgamott moved that HF 156 be presented before the committee; be laid over for further consideration at a later time.

Rep. Wolgamott presented HF 156.

Testifiers:
Mike Redmond, PhD, Superintendent, Shakopee Public Schools
Ron Meyer, Executive Director of Finance and Operations, Osseo Area Schools
Sara Weis, School Board Member, ISD 728 (Elk River, Ostego, Rogers, Zimmerman)
Sondra Samuels, President & CEO, Northside Achievement Zone
Tiffany Daniels, Parent, United Way of Central Minnesota
Xochitl Valdez, Student, Northfield Promise


The meeting of the Education Finance Committee was adjourned 11:45am.


______________________________________________
Representative Jim Davnie, Chair

______________________________________________
Brittney Sunderland, Committee Legislative Assistant