Commentary; Posted: 6/6/07
For state school funding, a passing grade
By Don Heinzman
While the Minnesota Legislature fell short of funding adequately K-12 education, it did provide $326 million to fund its obligation for special education.
This $326 million for special education is part of the overall increase of $794 million in new dollars approved for K-12 education for the next two years. The remainder will go to local school districts whose formula will be increased 2 percent in the first year and 1 percent in the second.
The new special education dollars mean many metropolitan area school districts will not have to subsidize special education as heavily with general fund revenues. State reimbursement for special education has been frozen at its 2003 level for the past four years.
Because the federal government fails to live up to its promise to help pay its share of special education expenses, local school districts still will have to use general fund dollars to pay for this expensive education.
The Legislature’s funding of special education with new dollars comes at a time when metropolitan school districts are using funds for the general program to subsidize special education students.
This is not a case of special education taking away funds from normal students; rather it’s all about state and federal governments not living up to funding programs it mandates.
Critics of the improved funding of special education will argue that since metropolitan area schools have more special education students, those districts will receive more money than rural districts where enrollments are smaller and declining.
While some will call this distribution unfair, most will agree that schools with the most special education students should not have to subsidize that education from general fund dollars.
Overall, school districts are likely to receive an average of between 4-6 percent, including special education funding.
Educators will counter this is not enough to cover inflationary costs, resulting in many school districts needing special elections this November, either to renew special property tax levies, or to approve new ones.
Lost in all this is the fact that the Minnesota Legislature is failing to live up to its 2001 promise to pay more of K-12 funding. When the state did take on more of the K-12 education bill, property taxes dropped from $2 billion to $1 billion.
In 2008, Minnesotans will be back to paying the $2 billion for K-12 education.
Observers note that the allocation for education this year is the same as it was in 2005. Some legislators, particularly the DFL, wanted to invest more in K-12 education, but Gov. Pawlenty vetoed a new tax bill and it was sustained by Republican legislators.
The bill does provide $32 million for all-day kindergarten, but the upshot will be parents paying a fee for that program. It also funded other initiatives, including the Q Comp program which gives merit pay to teachers who accept it.
All in all, give the Legislature a passing grade for the K-12 funding and an incomplete on easing the burden of property taxpayers.
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605