Commentary; Posted: 7/2/03

In funding K-12 education, Legislature deserves a B

Don Heinzman

The Minnesota Legislature earned a B grade in funding the K-12 public education.

With a $4.2 billion budget deficit staring them in the face last session, the legislators did protect the classroom in K-12 education. In so doing, it kept the basic aid formula per student at $4601 per pupil for the 2003-04 and 2005-05 school years.

That does not allow new dollars to handle inflation, mainly salary increases. This is significant, because this year and next the salaries of all classifications, including teachers, will be re-negotiated.

No one is betting that teachers or any other public employee, for that matter, will accept a salary freeze, even though some of the districts wonít have the extra money. Legislators did wipe off the books the need for school districts to settle teacher contracts before Jan. 15 or be penalized by a loss of aid.

Governor Tim Pawlenty and his legislators deserve a good grade for not cutting into the basic formula and not cutting too deeply into the flesh of other programs.

The pre-K through 12 program lost $189 million over the two years of the biennium, but consider that had K-12, which consumes 40 percent of the stateís budget, been cut by 15 percent like other departments, the loss could have been close to $2 billion.

Legislators and the governor also get a good grade for helping the have-not districts by giving those who pass levy referendums more equalization aid, up from $126 to $405 per pupil unit in 2005 and to $500 in 2006.

Legislators also increased the cap for those ìhaveî school districts so they can raise more through levy referendums.

In responding to those who say legislators pass laws and donít fund the programs, the Legislature detached some of the strings.

For example, they removed the three extra paid days, and eliminated the mandate that 2 percent of operating funds had to be spent for staff development. Now, those staff development funds can be spent according to the desires of the school board.

There were some bad marks.

With schools already using general operating funds for special education, the Legislature reduced that special funding even more; special education programs are mandated by the federal government.

Other programs took a hit, particularly Early Childhood Family Education. ECFE programs across the state lost 20 percent of its funding overall; these programs operated under community education likely will charge higher fees. The state also lowered the levy authority from 100 to 90 percent of unemployment insurance costs in excess of $10 per unit.

State funding for violence prevention and after-school programs has been removed.

Considering that the Legislature protected the basic K-12 program, it deserves a good grade, even though the overall result is less money in programs outside the classroom but in the school house.

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