St. Paul, MN—State and city officials from Farmington, Minnesota held a press conference today in St. Paul to formally invite Governor Dayton to hold a potential special session of the legislature in the city of Farmington. They identified the potential obstacles of holding a special session at the Capitol, which is under construction as a part of a $272 million renovation expected to take more than three years, and urged the Governor to consider the benefits of their unique proposal, which would highlight the school district's investment in technology to improve student learning.
A special session is expected to be necessary to provide flood relief following severe storms and flooding earlier this summer. State officials have previously identified concerns with using the Capitol for a potential session.
"Minnesota has a proud tradition of coming together to provide relief for those in need following natural disasters, and Farmington would be a unique and well-suited location to host any upcoming special session given the current state of the Capitol," said State Representative Pat Garofalo, whose district includes the city of Farmington.
“Farmington would embrace the opportunity to host the Minnesota Legislature this summer," added Farmington Mayor Todd Larson. "The opportunity to showcase Farmington, along with our partner the Farmington Area School District, would show Minnesotans the great things our community has to offer. Farmington stands ready to serve as the home to our state leaders!”
School officials proposed using iPad technology to record votes, and said it was a chance to highlight the district's efforts to incorporate technology in the classroom.
"The Farmington Area School District has put an emphasis on investing in technology to help aid student learning," said Tera Lee, Chair of the Farmington School Board. "Farmington High School has the space and technology to host a legislative special session, and this is a chance for legislators to see firsthand the technology our students are using to help improve our education outcomes in the classroom."
Governor Dayton formally requested federal disaster aid earlier this week to help defray more than $55 million in public costs and infrastructure damage resulting from floods and severe weather last June. With just $3 million remaining in the state's disaster emergency fund, a special session would likely be necessary to approve the state's portion of the disaster funding should the federal government approve Minnesota's disaster aid request.
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