Legislative UpdateDear friends and neighbors, It has been a busy week here at the Capitol. Committees officially started on Monday and we’ve had many hearings for our priority bills. We continue to work hard and are dedicated to making changes for communities and the state. Updates As a member of the Education Finance Committee, one of my top priorities is ensuring that our schools and children have the resources they need to succeed. Our students deserve a high-quality education, and that starts with supporting our educators, maintaining strong school budgets, and eliminating unnecessary financial burdens on districts. School districts across Minnesota are dealing with budget cuts, teacher layoffs, and increased class sizes which is a direct result of new unfunded mandates placed on our public schools the past two years. As I meet with Superintendents and school administrators, they’re telling me in unison these are crushing their ability to teach kids. The governor brought to us his proposed budget, which will exasperate the problem. Specifically, his proposal would reduce special education aid, cut non-public pupil aid for our private school and homeschool families, and cuts teacher pay by cutting a bonus-based teacher compensation (QCOMP). I oppose this budget and will make it my mission to reduce these unfunded mandates on our schools. These mandates are forcing districts to spend beyond their means, leading to teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, and fewer opportunities for students. I also am vehemently opposed to the targeting of our homeschool and alternative education families. I will continue fighting for policies that prioritize classroom funding, support teachers, and strengthen our education system. Our focus should be on investing in students and teachers, not expanding burdensome administration and new regulations.. This week I met with Brian Dietz who is the superintendent of Chisago Lakes. We discussed how mandates have impacted our schools and how to prioritize our teachers and students. On Monday, I took a tour of Lakes International Language Academy (LILA) Upper School in Forrest Lake, which serves many students from our district. The issues we discussed there dealt with equitable funding for Charter Schools. |