Dear Neighbors,
We are in the final stretch of the legislative session and must finish our work by midnight on Monday, May 18 in order to avoid a special session. I am hopeful that we will get done on time, and have been disappointed with the House Republican Majority’s reluctance to negotiate with Governor Dayton—particularly for education funding.
Just yesterday, I joined many colleagues in signing a letter to Governor Dayton in support of his call for significant investments in E-12 Education. You can read the letter here. It is important that he know the House Democrats stand with him.
With a nearly $2 billion budget surplus, we have a unique opportunity to build on the progress we made together in 2014 and make further investments in our kids and their schools. Unfortunately, the $400 million E-12 budget target announced by the Senate and House is insufficient to even keep up with inflation, let alone keep our programs going. For that reason, I support Governor Dayton’s call for at least $550 million in this area, which would allow us to both invest in our schools and in early childhood education, including pre-kindergarten.
Now is the time to set the right priorities for Minnesota’s future, and I believe our kids should be our top priority. If we agree on nothing else before tomorrow night, we should at least agree on that!
As always, please contact me with your questions, comments and concerns.
Sincerely,
Erik Simonson
State Representative