Friends,
Despite the warm weather this week, fall is here. In Minnesota, that means there is football on the weekends and students are back in their classrooms. This past session we made great strides in ensuring every child in Minnesota has access to a great education, no matter where they live. I am proud to have worked to make sure our schools have the resources they need to help our children thrive. Read more about that below and enjoy the last bit of warm weather before it turns cold!
K-12 Funding & Key Reforms
The 2017 Legislature made a significant investment into our children's future. The K-12 Budget will see an increase of $1.3 billion I authored the bill to meet the 2% yearly increase to the per-pupil formula that was requested by our school districts and statewide our schools will see more than $1.3 billion in increased funding. We also moved to give more local control to school districts by ending the "Last In, First Out" default layoff policy so schools can keep the best teachers in the classroom.
From the per-pupil increase the school districts in our area will see a combined $22.8 million in increased funding over the next two years. Making this significant investment into our schools combined with real reforms to keep the best teachers in the classroom means we are one step closer to making sure every student in the state of Minnesota has access to a world-class education.
Tax Breaks for Families with Students
I wanted to make sure parents know about tax incentives that may allow them to keep more of their hard earned money come tax season. Minnesota has both a credit and a subtraction for education expenses.
Most school supplies qualify for the credit or subtraction, including writing utensils, textbooks, and musical instrument rentals. Common items that don’t qualify for the subtraction or credit include school lunches, uniforms, backpacks, and more. Parents are encouraged to check the Revenue website to determine which expenses qualify.
While the education subtraction is not subject to income limits, the credit is limited to households with incomes less than $37,500 for families with 1-2 children, $39,500 for families with 3 children, and adding $2,000 per child for families with 4 or more children. According to the Department of Revenue, more than 43,000 families took advantage of the education credit saving an average of $242. In all, nearly 200,000 families took advantage of the education subtraction.
Full details about the Education Subtraction and Credit can be found on the Department of Revenue’s website: http://www.revenue.state.mn.us.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at 651-296-5513 or emailing me at rep.mark.uglem@house.mn.
Thank you & have a great weekend,
Mark