Accessibility menu
State Representative Andrew Falk
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4228
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
NEWS COLUMN
AN ENDURING COMMITMENT TO MINNESOTA STUDENTS
Minnesota’s nation-leading education system wasn’t built overnight. It took decades of strategic investment, smart policy innovations, and a long-term commitment to academic excellence. Despite wars, depression, and severe fiscal state crises, our parents and grandparents put students first, giving you and me the highest-quality education.
Even in times of scarce resources, it is crucial that we continue our commitment to Minnesota’s world-class education system. Facing a $994 million state budget deficit this year, we need to maintain the state’s fiscal commitment to students, and continue enacting policy reforms to make our schools even better.
Nearly $313 million in cuts have been made already this session to 10 specific budget areas, resolving one-third of the state’s deficit. But Health and Human Service (HHS) programs and K-12 school budgets so far remain untouched – waiting on additional information regarding how much federal aid Minnesota will receive in the weeks ahead.
Right now it is unclear when or if Congress will pass a federal jobs bill – a bill promising to deliver $408 million to our state. One thing is certain though: the House, Senate, and Governor Pawlenty have made the commitment not to cut crucial funding from Minnesota classrooms – because our students only get one shot at a good education.
Still, K-12 schools continue to deal with the real financial struggles of severe under-funding over the last decade. Under Governor Pawlenty’s leadership, school funding was cut for the first time in our state’s history. And for the last eight years under his administration, education funding has remained flat while the cost of delivering a modern, high-quality education for our students continues to rise.
When the state faced a record $6.4 billion budget deficit last year, the Governor used our schools like a bank. In an unprecedented move, he unilaterally delayed $1.7 billion in state aid payments to public school districts – using that money to balance the budget. That forced school districts to take out loans to pay the bills, loans with interest; loans this Governor has no intention of paying back.
A high-quality education is one of Minnesota’s strongest economic assets. When we invest in our students, we are investing in Minnesota’s future. That’s why I’m standing firm with students, teachers, and parents to protect our schools from the threat of any budget cuts, and working hard to make Minnesota classrooms an even better place to learn.
More than that, I am working with my colleagues to enact policy reforms that will more effectively manage our state’s 2.5 million acres of school trust lands – an effort that will put more dollars in Minnesota classrooms. Lax oversight, and too little attention to responsible land management, has provided our students with only a fraction of what they deserve to receive from this invaluable resource.
That’s why legislation was passed in 2008 to improve oversight of the Permanent School Trust Fund – an effort that resulted in an additional $33 per pupil. We are continuing those efforts this session to eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic waste, and produce additional new funding for Minnesota schools.
With just four weeks remaining before the Legislature adjourns on May 17th, I strongly encourage you to contact me with your questions, concerns, and suggestions. Your input helps me represent you better.
Working together, we can continue Minnesota’s long-held commitment to high-quality schools, and do the work necessary to make Minnesota an even better place to live. As always, I look forward to hearing from you.
Andrew Falk
State Representative
District 20A
(651) 296-4288
rep.andrew.falk@house.mn
News Items
- Budget Forecast: Major budget problems remain for 2014-15 Fiscal crisis in Washington creates uncertainty and concerns - (Posted: Dec 5 2012 12:00AM)
- Budget Forecast: Major budget problems remain for 2014-15 Fiscal crisis in Washington creates uncertainty and concerns - (Posted: 2012-12-05 00:00:00)
- 2012 SESSION WRAP UP - (Posted: 2012-07-05 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.