ST. PAUL – Could Governor Walz and legislative Democrats hurt local schools more than help them this session?
State Representative Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska) said majority leadership has promised record amounts of school funding by the end of the year, but noted that a number of area school superintendents are skeptical that proposed Democrat spending mandates might eliminate all of that new money and then some.
“The superintendents I’ve spoken with are concerned that even if their schools receive a 5% funding increase in each of the next two years, the new mandates being proposed will force them to go backward,” Torkelson said. “If the funding increases can’t keep up with the spending mandates, that’s not a good situation.”
Torkelson said Democrat leadership has not been shy about proposing a number of new curriculum and program mandates this session, as the House Education Finance Chair has declared their intention to “put our money where our mandates are.”
But Torkelson said the main issue is whether the funding the DFL is promising will actually cover the costs of the mandates they are considering. Among the mandates that could be forced upon schools are new minimum wage requirements for school staff and fully funded insurance premiums.
Torkelson said while schools are asking for more funding, they are not asking state government for more unfunded mandates.
“Our focus in K-12 Education should be to fairly fund our students, especially in the rural areas of the state, and empowering our local school boards and parents to do what they think is best for their children,” Torkelson concluded.