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State Representative Kim Norton
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-9249
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
Column/LTE
THE RIGHT TIME FOR REFORM
Minnesota schools are the engine of our state's economic future, and the key to success for all our students. For decades Minnesota has been a nation leading, fairly funded model of excellence for public education in our country, giving Minnesota students access to some of the best education opportunities in the world. That tradition of academic excellence has gone far in sharpening the state's competitive edge with a well-educated, highly capable, modern workforce.
But in recent years, Minnesota's school funding system has been eroding, and world-class education opportunities for students have been negatively affected. Budget cuts in 2003, unfunded mandates from the federal government (including the flawed policies of "No Child Left Behind"), the rising cost of energy and health care, increasing enrollments in under-funded special education programs coupled with ongoing disinvestments in our students, have presented schools statewide with the incredible challenge of doing much more with far less.
Inadequate state funding for education has shifted the burden onto property tax payers already struggling with record increases on their property tax statements year after year. Now, all too often the quality of a student's education depends on the ability of each individual school district's ability to pass a levy referendum. Last year alone 99 school districts asked voters to raise property taxes to keep Minnesota schools afloat.
There's something wrong with this picture; particularly when our constitution requires that the state provide a "uniform system of public schools" - the only original state-funding obligation laid out in the document that founded Minnesota 150 years ago.
It's time to recommit our state to the constitutional principles that have been the bedrock of our academic and economic success since the beginning. It's time to get serious about enacting the kind of strategic education reform measures it will take to restore the level of education Minnesota students both need and deserve in an increasingly competitive 21st Century economy. It's time to reestablish a fairer, more efficient school funding mechanism that will meet the needs of our students and prepare our workforce for success in a rapidly changing, high-tech age.
During this past biennium the Legislature focused on charting the course for much needed education reform. With an ultimate goal of restoring Minnesota's place at the top of our nation’s public schools, we provided an additional $850 million that will bridge the funding gap for schools over the next two years. This critical funding will see Minnesota schools through difficult times and lay the foundation for long-term education funding reform in the near future - reform capable of reducing the burden of property taxes and providing students with a uniform system of public schools as prescribed by the Minnesota Constitution.
That comprehensive funding reform effort is in the works already. The House K-12 Education Committee is traveling the state this summer gathering critical input on a plan that will reform our broken education funding formula in Minnesota and reestablish our school system as a nation-leading example of academic excellence for years to come. This reform plan, developed in concert with many advocates, education specialists, and finance experts, recognizes that we can't just keep throwing money at the problem. Instead, it is a strategic, innovative, proposal that would reinvest needed new funding in our school system while maximizing the educational utility of every taxpayer dollar.
In enacting such responsible, forward-thinking reform we may just be at the brink of re-creating a new and better “Minnesota Miracle," so we can all be confident that every Minnesota student will have the necessary tools to succeed in school and inherit an even better, more prosperous future in the state we know, love, and live in today. For the benefit of our schools, our students, and all Minnesota taxpayers, I am supporting the K-12 Committee’s work and am hopeful this important education reform effort becomes law next year.
Please contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns you have on this or any other issue by phone at (651) 296-9249 or by email at rep.kim.norton@house.mn. I look forward to hearing from you.
News Items
- Rep. Norton Selected as Vice Chair of House Health and Human Services Finance Committee - (Posted: 2012-12-14 00:00:00)
- It’s Time for Legislature to Get Back to Basics, Balance the Budget Honestly - (Posted: 2012-12-11 00:00:00)
- Second Saturday Coffee Meeting Date Changed to December 9 - (Posted: 2012-12-03 00:00:00)
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