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State Representative John Benson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-9934
For more information contact: Charlene Briner 651-296-5809
NEWS COLUMN
PRESERVING OUR ABILITY TO MAKE INDEPENDENT DECISIONS ABOUT OUR SCHOOLS
I came to the Minnesota House of Representatives a proud and passionate advocate for our public schools. In Minnetonka, Hopkins and Wayzata, we're fortunate to have some of the finest public schools in the state, notable for an incredible level of community support. Our parent volunteers, our excellent teachers and of course, our students, are second to none.
As a teacher, one of my frustrations has always been the number of mandates that are imposed on schools, both at the federal and the state level. Some of the mandates are necessary – without them our schools would still be segregated and children with learning disabilities would be consigned to second-class learning opportunities.
What I object to are the mandates that come without funding by state and federal governments, and mandates that take away the ability of local school boards to make decisions that reflect the needs and values of the communities they serve, in essence making state and federal government a sort of de facto school board.
Several bills introduced in the House this week would preserve the independent autonomy of local school boards that has served Minnesota so well. One proposal that I have authored would do several things. First, it would eliminate some of the onerous reporting requirements that don't serve the purpose of giving clear information to parents and residents. Second, it would give local school boards discretion about school board primary elections, rather than making them mandatory. Currently, school boards are required to hold primary elections when more than two candidates have filed for a single school board seat. That means that even if three people file for that single seat, the school district would be forced to hold both a primary and a general election – seemingly an unnecessary waste of both money and resources. Reversing this provision alone could result in thousands of dollars in savings in school districts across the state.
Another bill equally important to our district would repeal the penalty for schools districts that are at 95 percent or higher of the state cap on voter-approved levy referendum. Current statute penalizes communities like ours by potentially reducing the amount of state aid that they receive if their ranking goes up, therefore acting as a disincentive to pass voter- approved levy referendum. And the system to calculate these district rankings is volatile and unpredictable and reduces the ability of districts to do effective long-range planning.
Minnesota's first priority should be the success of our students. One important part of that success is to maintain the independent authority of local school districts to make decisions that best serve the needs and values of their own communities. That way we can be certain that all of our students will develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to succeed in an increasingly competitive world.
News Items
- Rep. John Benson: Southwest Light Rail Transit Good For Businesses, Communities, and Our Future - (Posted: 2012-09-13 00:00:00)
- Legislature Passes Bonding & Vikings Bills, Neglects Skyrocketing Property Taxes - (Posted: 2012-05-10 00:00:00)
- Legislative Update - May 8, 2012 - (Posted: 2012-05-08 00:00:00)
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