Commentary; Posted: 1/5/05
Pawlenty must address school funding needs
By all measures, Minnesota has a good public school system. The graduation rates, test scores, scores on college entrance tests of Minnesota schools on average are among the nationís best.
This is due in large measure to the funding of education by the Minnesota Legislature, which devotes 42 percent of its budget to education.
Last week, the Association of Metropolitan School Districts, made up of 26 districts, sounded the alarm saying public education is in deep trouble unless it gets more money from the Legislature. Public Education K-12, hasnít had a raise in the per pupil formula for three years. Had the Legislature kept pace with inflation, school districts would have had $400 more per pupil unit.
This school year the state grants $4,600 per pupil unit to fund education. None of that money in the formula comes from property taxes. Included in that formula is money to transport students and for capitol and equipment.
The AMSD figures if it doesnít get additional money its schools will have to cut collectively $88 million from its budgets.
Most school districts in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area are facing budget cuts. One big district is hoping for an increase of $150 more per pupil in the first year, no increase in the second and $100 more per pupil for a discretionary fund which equalized would amount to $350 million more for the biennium.
Some school districts are so desperate for money they are even considering allowing businesses to advertise to students and selling naming rights for its schools. Students in one school are selling poinsettias to raise money for equipment.
Most observers believe the Legislature will add more money to the formula even though they are facing a budget shortfall of $1.1 billion.
Since Governor Tim Pawlenty is sticking to his no-tax-hike pledge, the money for schools will have to come from another source or from other parts of the stateís budget, mainly Health and Human Services budget.
The hard reality is school districts are spending more than their revenues, mainly on salaries and benefits for staff, since such expenses make up 85 percent of the budget.
Even so, Minnesota, which once ranked fifth in average teachers salaries, now ranks 22nd.
Faced with this potential train wreck, AMSD says school boards ought to have the power to levy for more local transportation money, more money to maintain buildings and to buy technology. They argue they should have the same taxing authority as city councils and county boards of commissioners.
There is a precedent for a school board having local tax levying authority. Twenty of the 343 school districts in Minnesota do levy extra taxes to repair and maintain buildings. They are mainly the larger school districts where repairing old school buildings is essential.
State Education Commissioner Alice Seagren says she will look at the local-levying option, but she adds there would have to be equity in any proposal otherwise the ěhaveî school districts could end up with more money for education than the ěhave not districts.î
Besides she says the state already includes money for transportation and deferred maintenance in the general formula. Districts are spending it for other purposes.
This financing of education will not be solved by projected revenues for the biennium. Gov. Pawlenty will have to take the lead in finding the solution and he should not rule out state tax increases in the process. ó Don Heinzman
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605