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Education funding remains a concern
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Wednesday, 05 December 2007
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Now that the dust has settled from votes on tax levy referendums, school districts where the levy was defeated are picking up the pieces, and those where the levy has passed are breathing a sign of relief.
Meanwhile, there are cries for reforming the system of funding pre-K-12 public education from school officials who are weary of trying to convince the public that they are getting their money’s worth.
There are pleas for more accountability of funds and measures proving how spending more money for education is worthwhile.
School superintendents say the state has failed in its responsibility to fund adequately, public education. This fiscal year the state is spending $6,856,000,000 for K-12 education, including all categorical aids.
In 2006-07, the state spent $6,446,000,000 on K-12 education, according to the Minnesota House Research.
The funds are allocated according to weighted daily membership. One calculation shows that last year considering all aids, districts received $8680 per pupil and this year, $9242 per pupil.
Of the aid from the state, 42 percent is personal income taxes and 26 percent is the sales tax. Property taxes now fund 27 percent of K-12 operating expenses.
Even so, officials from the nearly 100 school districts that held tax levy referendums contend the state is not funding schools enough to meet inflation, pointing to the 1 percent increase in school aids for the next school year.
Conservatives joined by other taxpayers are asking how much is enough?
Critic and former State Rep. Phil Krinkie says that schools are spending more for fewer students as enrollment continues to stabilize and decline in many school districts.
All this is happening while teachers, administrators and support service personnel are negotiating salaries and benefits that eat up 85 per cent of the operating budget. School boards where referendums were defeated will be bargaining hard, knowing that they must cut budgets to meet salary demands or take a strike.
So far, there is little strike talk. There were no strikes in 2006, and so far this year, 64 of 341 school districts have settled contracts. The average salary increase based on those settlements has been 2.6 percent for the first year and 2.5 percent for next year.
This percentage, however, does not include the increase on salary schedules for time in grade and more education credits.
The parent and taxpayer are left wondering how good are the schools in Minnesota and how much more money is needed.
While by many benchmarks Minnesota’s educational system ranks high compared to other states, the challenge is preparing students to compete in a global economy when the United States lags behind many educational systems in the world. — An opinion from the ECM Editorial Board. The Forest Lake Times is part of ECM Publishers, Inc.
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