Legislative update

Dear Neighbor,

Our state’s education system is suffering the consequences of reckless spending and unnecessary tax increases Democrats enacted with full control of the Minnesota Capitol the last two years.

In other words, our children are suffering the consequences of reckless spending and unnecessary tax increases Democrats enacted with full control of the Minnesota Capitol the last two years.

School districts throughout the state are dealing with shortfalls. They are having to make cuts, eliminate staff and make other decisions they do not want to make because of the hand they’ve been dealt after the former trifecta turned the nearly $20 billion surplus into a $6 billion shortfall.

Education received record levels of state funding in 2023, but the party in control also placed more than 65 mandates on schools, resulting in a net loss for many or all districts.

I continue speaking with school officials from our area and they have major concerns about services and/or programs that may have to be reduced. They also are hoping for relief from the burden a new Paid Family Medical Leave program will place on them if it launches in its current form as scheduled this coming Jan. 1.

House Republicans conducted a press conference this week to outline our priorities for education, namely local control, funding flexibility and mandate relief. That stands in stark contrast to the governor’s plan, which reduces teachers’ professional development pay, cuts funding for schools and education programs, limits services for children with special needs, denies textbooks to school-age children, and allocates more money to state bureaucrats for increased control over schools. Overall, the governor’s proposed budget deepens financial disparities in our schools while failing to address the achievement gap.

Let’s get back to common sense on education and pass local control, flexibility and mandate relief instead of balancing the budget on the backs of our children. Let’s give our schools funding flexibility where they can best address their own local budget needs. Let’s also encourage schools in our state to innovate so they can actually educate our kids in the core areas without inviting divisiveness into the classroom.

Regardless, we need to get off this broken, unsustainable education path Democrats put us on. As one superintendent has been quoted: We’re having to cut teachers and paraprofessionals so we can pay people to stay home over the summer and not work.

Whistleblower website House Republicans are taking a serious approach to cracking down on fraud, waste and abuse that has overtaken our government, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Or billions of dollars. Who really knows? The solution involves more than adding more bureaucracy on top of the bureaucracy we already have. And that’s where citizens come into the picture because they are the cornerstone of accountability in our government. A new MNFraud.com has been launched as one way everyday Minnesotans can help clean up this problem by reporting suspected fraud, waste and abuse within our government. This website is a hub for Minnesotans to report concerns they see or suspect. Those tips will then be initially assessed and directed to the appropriate authorities for further investigation. The information, including the identities of whistleblowers, is secure and protected. Minnesota has faced widespread fraud issues in several state-run programs, with hundreds of millions of dollars misused or stolen through fraudulent claims and mismanagement. Scandals related to Feeding Our Future, childcare assistance, medical aid, and welfare programs all continue to make headlines. The common thread is a need for stronger safeguards, transparency, and accountability in managing taxpayer-funded programs. Minnesotans work hard for their money and our government owes it to them to be good stewards of the tax dollars that are collected. Citizen participation is the key to ensuring accountability and this website is a good step forward in that regard. I hope people will take advantage of this new tool if they see tax dollar misuse or encounter a scenario where they suspect it is happening. Sincerely, Shane