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State Representative Pat Garofalo
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-1069
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
PRESS RELEASE
GAROFALO: FUND EDUCATION NOT FLUFF: School funding should be used to promote the “3 R’s” – not hip hop dancing and kindness retreats
ST PAUL – State Representative Pat Garofalo [R-Farmington] this week introduced legislation that would re-prioritize funding dedicated to the Minnesota Integration Revenue program (commonly called “Integration Aid”) to core education functions instead. This reform of Integration Aid would allow districts outside the program to receive assistance in fully funding school lunch programs and strengthening student transportation. Savings could also be used to address the state’s budget deficit.
“At a time when the Legislature is looking for every cost-savings and efficiency we can find, spending scare resources on things like the Six Step Hip Hop program and Kindness Retreats have more to do with fiscal malfeasance than with integration or education,” said Rep. Garofalo. “Why we have continued to fund this program with hundreds-of-millions of dollars is a mystery to me and many of my colleagues. I think if the general public was aware that their tax dollars were being spent like this they would be upset, too.”
The Integration Aid program was the subject of a study by the Office of the Legislative Auditor in November 2005. Among the Auditor’s findings was that the program was not clearly defined, program results have not been sufficiently assessed by the participating districts and the state, the funding has led to some unintended and potentially negative consequences and, most disappointingly, racial concentration has increased in some of the participating districts.
“After twelve years I think it’s safe to say that the Integration Aid program has failed,” continued Garofalo. “Not one school district that has ever received this funding has succeeded in its goal of desegregating their district. When you have a 100% failure rate it’s time to try something new.”
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