Accessibility menu
State Representative Tim Faust
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-0518
For more information contact: Chris Shields 651-296-8873
NEWS COLUMN
EDUCATION NEEDS MORE THAN JUST A FUNDING INCREASE
As a member of the House K-12 Education Finance Committee, I'll be listening carefully to proposals that increase the state K-12 funding formula. In fact, I'm a co-author of HF 6, a bill to keep state K-12 funding at the rate of inflation. While this is something we can do immediately to stop school budget cuts, it will take more than just money to permanently fix the way our state invests in K-12 education. We need to create a new funding formula that will ensure equitable and adequate funding for our children.
Using our current funding formula is like farming today with a steam engine. When the steam engine was invented it was a huge improvement over using horses. As new technology evolved, like internal combustion engines, rubber tires, cabs with air conditioning, computers in the tractor, the steam engine became an attraction that we like to watch at threshing shows. When the state's funding formula was created, it did a good job of providing schools with the money they needed. Over the years it has been pushed and pulled with every change in political wind to the point that it just doesn’t provide equitable or adequate funding anymore.
It's clear that Minnesota needs a new funding formula. Fortunately, a coalition of education groups and parents from across the state has put together a solution. P.S. Minnesota was formed from an education taskforce originally appointed by Governor Pawlenty. Their initial study found that the state education-funding formula needed to be replaced. After the Governor disbanded them, members regrouped to research a reform plan. They hired a well-respected research firm to draft a plan to reform the funding formula. I am honored to have been asked to carry that reform legislation in the House. As you may remember, “More equitable school funding" was my top issue this past fall. The schools and children in our district are not getting their fair share of state education money. Getting them the tools they need to succeed is the number one reason why I will continue to work hard to pass this reform.
The biggest change in the new formula is that school funding will be based on need, rather than how much money the state has and how much property tax capacity a district has. For rural Minnesota this is very important, since we typically do not have high property tax capacity. Our children and other children in rural districts deserve the same opportunities as the rest of the children in the state and this legislation will insure they get those opportunities.
The new plan also pays for all-day Kindergarten by counting each Kindergarten student as a full student. This would ensure that districts could afford to provide voluntary all-day K. We all know that starting children on the learning path early on can pay dividends down the road.
Reforming education funding won't be easy. It may take a few years to gather enough support in the Legislature. However, we will succeed, because Minnesotans believe that all our children should have a fair opportunity to succeed. When I graduated from college, I competed with someone from South Dakota for a job. When today’s student graduates from college, they will be competing with someone from South Korea for a job. The only way our children can compete is to make sure the education they get today is the best in the world. The P.S. Minnesota bill will go a long ways to ensure this happens, our children’s and the state's future is dependent on it.
-30-
News Items
- Kyle Herman Bill Signed into Law - (Posted: 2010-04-28 00:00:00)
- To Students, Teachers, and Parents: Have a great year - (Posted: 2009-09-14 00:00:00)
- LEGISLATIVE SESSION CONCLUDES - (Posted: 2009-05-19 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.