Hello from the State Capitol,
Like you, I’m filled with disgust and sadness after watching an assassin attempt to murder President Trump and succeeding in killing one innocent bystander and hurting two others.
There is no situation where violence is an acceptable response in politics. Please join me in offering prayers to those who are suffering: the family of the hero who tried to protect his loved ones at the rally and paid the ultimate price; the hospitalized victims; the rallygoers who will forever be haunted by this experience; and President Trump, who was an inch or two away from being killed while sharing his view on how he wants to lead our nation.
On the national level, it seems like there’s not much Republicans and Democrats can agree on these days. Regardless of your political leanings, all of us should be able to condemn political violence. No one should have to fear for their life for expressing their political views, or listening to someone who is sharing them. What we witnessed Saturday night was truly an American tragedy, and yet it could have been so much worse.
THIEF RIVER FALLS SCHOOLS FUNDING
Some of you may have heard the story about the Thief River Falls School District, and how its students raised money to keep a third-grade classroom from local budget reductions. Click here to learn more.
The story highlights a failed levy as to why the district needed to make the reduction. And all of this happened as the majority party touted its “historic funding increase” for schools statewide.
As is usually the case, there’s more to this story. The reality is, that “historic” funding came with plenty of strings attached. With more than 65 Democrat mandates also forced upon our school districts last year, many of them are now operating with less funding than before the “historic” amount of money was allocated.
Many of us on the Republican side recognized early that some school districts were not going to be as successful as they expected under this proposal and tried to do something about it. Under our alternative – which the majority party shot down - Thief River Falls would have received $256,000 more in Fiscal Year 2024 than they are currently receiving under the Democrat education funding law, and $669,000 more in Fiscal Year 2025.
In fact, our plan would have provided more than $3 million in additional funding across all of our school districts. Some specific examples:
Thief River Falls: $925,106
Roseau: $560,861
Warroad: $467,550
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo: $264,471
Newfolden/Marshall County Central: $199,288
Instead, we now have students raising money to save classrooms. And while those kids should be commended for their efforts - raising $70,000 for this cause is unbelievable - it never should have needed to happen. Worse, that $70,000 is ultimately going to be taxed by the state, while the $925,000 Thief River Falls could have received under the GOP education funding alternative would have arrived tax free.
TURKEYS!
What have I been doing this summer when not focusing on legislative duties? Raising turkeys!
We currently have 18,000 baby turkeys at the farm, which are keeping everyone in our family hopping!
PLEASE CONTACT ME WITH YOUR LEGISLATIVE NEEDS
In a few short days, we will be 60 days removed from the end of the 2024 legislative session, at which point House members are prohibited from emailing newsletters such as this until after the November election. But I obviously will continue responding to your legislative questions and concerns, so please reach out if you are in need of assistance! I can be reached at rep.john.burkel@house.mn.gov or by phone at 651.296.9635.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
John