Legislative UpdateDear Northlanders, Let’s talk about funding for our schools. For decades, Minnesota was a leader in education. However, I am highlighting what the state of the union may look like with the current proposed cuts of $250 million by Governor Walz. With the high number of emails, phone calls, and texts from throughout the district I decided to do a deep dive on this topic. Who is affected by the cuts? Every aspect of education faces cuts to include public, private, charter and home school students. What is included in the cuts? 1. Transportation cuts for special education. 2. Elimination of a 50-year program called non-public pupil aid in state statute 123B.40-123B.48 decided to ensure every student in Minnesota regardless of attending public school or non-public school, has equitable access to educational benefits. Non-public means charter, private and home school 3. Elimination of the above non-public pupil aid cuts for those at charter, private or home school who receive transportation, textbooks, counseling and nurse services as public schools receive. 4. Teacher compensation pay initiatives tied to performance rather than just years of service or educational level. Why are these cuts happening? The state is at a $6 billion deficit after spending $18.5 billion in two years and increasing taxes by $10 billion. Governor Walz grew the MN Department of Education by 23% and added staff in St. Paul while teachers and staff are being eliminated in schools statewide. Now, the Governor is trying to cut his budget funding in classrooms rather than St. Paul. In fact, millions of cuts occurred in Hermantown, Proctor, Two Harbors, and Duluth with more financial hardships coming for school districts. Why? It is all about choices made as there is no magic money tree. The 2023-2024 legislature had one party rule and funded unemployment for hourly workers (bus drivers, cooks, paraprofessionals, custodians etc.) to allow for paid summers off. However, the budget is only funded for the first two years, and the fund is running out. This means the burden to fund this program will fall on school districts resulting in more cuts unless voters elect an operational levy increase which will increase property taxes. What can be done? Republicans are cutting mandates to fund schools, while Democrats are cutting schools to fund mandates. Here is a perfect example. A Republican offered HF 2201 at a committee hearing this week. It maintains free breakfast for all, but requires families of 4 for example, making over $150,000 to provide their children with lunches. This would free up $170 million for a two-year period. This is simply an option, since the days of a $18.5 billion surplus are gone, and we must ensure a solution is found to ensure classrooms are staffed to teach and critical support staff are retained for quality educational experience. There are several competing wishes: hourly workers want paid summers off with unemployment, teachers want a pathway to retire before 65 years old and 30 years of service, and parents and students want the right number of teachers with learning opportunities. While it is easy to point fingers, I am joining my colleagues seeking solutions to ensure classrooms are funded to improve reading, science, and math scores locally and statewide. Currently only 50% of MN students statewide can read at grade level and that is unacceptable and no Minnesota miracle. I am excited to be one of many legislators seeking solutions for k-12 education needs. The reality is that there is not a money tree, so we must decide what the priority to fund is with a $6 billion dollar deficit. We must be willing to look at all options and ensure our schools have local control. We should continue to honor a long history of ensuring every student in Minnesota can access transportation, textbooks & counseling as agreed upon decades ago regardless of where they are educated. This means every child, public, private, charter and home-schooled students to ensure Minnesota is a shining star in education. Please contact Governor Walz at 651-201-3400 and let him know what you think. While there are always problems to fix, there is also hope to seek solutions for today and many tomorrows. Next week is the Legislative Spring Break and I am excited to spend time with family and friends. It is an honor to be your State Representative, and I look forward to continuing to work for you as session wraps up. In Service, Natalie How will we slice the pie? I want to remind folks that there’s only one state budget “pie”—and we need to slice it responsibly. Minnesota is facing a $6 billion deficit, yet Democrats continue to fund unsustainable programs—like over $200 million for free health care for non-citizens—while our veterans, seniors, and working families are being left behind. I’m fighting to protect the core services that matter: K-12 education, rural EMS, and support for our aging population. I’ll continue to stand strong against new taxes and oppose efforts to shift costs onto local governments. It’s time for real fiscal accountability in Saint Paul. Click here to watch the video below.  Visitors Visitors at the Capitol for teacher pensions. Community and Events Veterans day on the hill. |