The Situation
Although the 2010 legislative session doesn’t officially begin for four weeks yet, committees are meeting now to begin addressing the budget problems facing Minnesota. Following is a recap of the situation.
K-12 education was “held-harmless” during the 2009 legislative session. Education was budgeted to receive flat funding for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years.
After the end of the 2009 session, Governor Pawlenty unilaterally made a total of $2.7 billion in unallotments after budget negotiations broke down between the governor’s office and the legislature. $1.7 billion was cut from education though it is currently considered a shift in education payments. (Unallotment is an executive power to reduce funding to any government entity to balance the budget in emergencies)
However due to the economy performing even worse than forecasted, Minnesota now has an additional $1.2 billion deficit for 2010 that must be resolved. If this amount is cut proportionally across all governmental entities, K-12 education would receive a staggering cut of $500 per pupil unit for the 2010-11 school year.
Additionally, a small portion of Governor Pawlenty’s July 2009 unallotments was challenged in court and the judge ruled that the unallotment authority was misused.
Futhermore, the projected 2011-2012 biennium budget deficit is worse, anticipated to be $5.4 billion.
This all adds up to extremly difficult legislative session. What does this mean for K-12 education? Cuts? Generally speaking, education is regarded as the economic engine that will drive Minnesota’s future prosperity by providing a highly educated workforce. Therefore, it is unlikely that funding will be cut by $500 per pupil but lesser amounts will be discussed and possibly implemented.
The magnitude of the budget shortfall is hard to comprehend. Cuts alone cannot fix the long term problem and neither will tax increases. Will our state leaders to put aside political aspirations and work together for the best interest of all Minnesotans. K-12 education funding, which is approximately 40% of the general fund, may not be held harmless. Yet, our children are in school now. They won’t get another shot at the grade level educational experiences that they will lose in the coming years if we dismantle our public schools to balance the state budget.

Why Does Funding Matter So Much?
For the past 20 years, the State has increased the education basic formula on average of 1.4% a year while inflation has increased yearly costs by 3.2%. Schools have been “tightening their belts” and “living within their means” for years, actually they have been “living within diminishing means”.

Due to inadequate state funding and the reliance on referendum to fund schools, there is a great disparity in funding among school district across the state. Click here to find out how these funding disparities translate into the classroom.

Further budget cuts will reduce the learning opportunities for all children. It is unclear how the lowest funded districts will be able to survive if faced with significant reductions in funding. We are looking at 3-5 years of eroding educational opportunities at a time when global competition demands our future work force (aka: all kids in our schools today) be better educated to higher levels.

What You Can Do
Those of us who care deeply for public education have two options. We can stick our heads in the sand, which on some days seems very desirable. Or, we can be a voice for our children and all Minnesota school children.
Stay informed. Take the time to read SEE Legislative Updates. I will work to keep you informed and will suggest ways that you can help. Be prepared to act at critical times. This is going to be a rough session and the fate of education is unknown. Action can be as simple as sending an email or making a phone call.
Pass these updates on and ask your friends to sign up to receive SEE’s Legislative Updates so they too can be part of our network. Now is the time to build education support networks so that when critical times occur during the legislative session we can respond. In this political world, it is the voice of many that can make a difference.
Attend Parents United Network’s Legislative Kickoff on Saturday, January 23. This event is an excellent opportunity to get the newest information on the state budget and talk about defining issues for the session and the election. See this flyer for more information.

Working together, we can make a difference.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Deb Griffiths
Director of Communications and Community Outreach
Schools for Equity in Education
612-309-0089
Deb.Griffiths@schoolsforequity.org
www.schoolsforequity.org