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State Representative Tim Faust
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-0518
For more information contact: Michael Howard 651-296-8873
NEWS COLUMN
To Students, Teachers, and Parents: Have a great year
The beginning of a school year is always an exciting, vibrant time of year. And in what has been a difficult year for our state and country, it’s more important than ever to recognize the important role our world class education system plays in keeping our state and communities strong.
We have many reasons to take pride in our schools in Minnesota. According to the Report Card on American Education, we were the top ranked state in academic achievement over the past two years. In addition, many of our public and private college and universities throughout our state continue to be among the highest ranked in the nation. One reason is our state’s long tradition of investing in education, which has led to us having some of the best schools and best teachers in the country. Another reason we have done so well is that Minnesotan parents are involved in their children’s education, which makes a big difference in academic achievement. In these difficult economic times it will be important to keep education a top priority in order to maintain our world class schools for the next generation of Minnesotans.
This past legislative session, the deepest budget deficit in our state’s history presented significant challenges to our education system. I was pleased we were able to make K-12 education a priority in our budget, passing a bill that did not cut classroom funding. We did pass a funding shift, but included a mechanism to pay it back. While I was pleased we prevented classroom cuts, I voted against our final education funding bill because we did not do enough to reform our school funding formula to make it more equitable for Greater Minnesota schools.
We were able to pass many reforms designed to improve the accountability and effectiveness of our education system from top to bottom. At the preschool level, we passed legislation to improve the quality and affordability of child care programs and operate early learning programs more efficiently. We also reduced unfunded mandates for K-12 schools, minimized cuts at state universities, community colleges, and technical schools, and provided additional scholarship opportunities for middle-class students.
Challenges still remain for many of our school districts. Due to the Governor’s unallotment, payments will be delayed to our schools to fill our current budget deficit. This will force schools that do not have spending reserves to borrow money. As I mentioned earlier, the House and Senate passed a funding shift, but we built in a payback mechanism to make sure our schools were quickly reimbursed. Since the Governor doesn’t have a mechanism to pay it back, this is technically a cut until the legislature approves a bill to pay it back. I will make it a top priority next session to address this issue so that our schools are properly reimbursed.
To high school students in the district, I want to encourage you to consider applying for the Minnesota House of Representatives High School Page Program. Created in 1975, the High School Page Program was modeled after a similar program offered in the United States Congress. It is one of just three such programs in the nation to provide young people with an in-depth look into government at the state level. This program is open to High School Juniors. Applications will be accepted beginning in late September through mid-November. For information about the program and when applications will be available, please contact my legislative office.
I wish all the parents, teachers, and students from the district a safe and successful 2009-2010 school year. Good luck!
News Items
- Kyle Herman Bill Signed into Law - (Posted: 2010-04-28 00:00:00)
- To Students, Teachers, and Parents: Have a great year - (Posted: 2009-09-14 00:00:00)
- LEGISLATIVE SESSION CONCLUDES - (Posted: 2009-05-19 00:00:00)
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