Dear Friends,
This week I introduced a bipartisan piece of legislation to increase the per-pupil for Minnesota school districts. Money alone is not the answer to fixing the achievement gap and other areas where we need to see improvement in our schools, but increasing the per-pupil formula gives school districts the flexibility to put funding and resources in the programs that they know to be working.
I'm proud of the broad group of co-authors that have signed onto this bill, and am looking forward to moving it through the process in the coming weeks.
Pay Increases for Met Council Chair, Commissioners
WCCO reported yesterday evening that Governor Dayton approved more than $700,000 in pay increases to his commissioners and political appointees without legislative approval. This change was made during the last two years of one-party control, and increase the salary limit for commissioners, as well as giving authority to the Governor to approve those pay increases.
The largest increase was more than $80,000 for the new Chair of the Met Council, but that was partially due to the position changing from part-time to full-time. Other increases ranged from about $11,000 to $35,000.
The increases went into effect in early January, but the legislature was not notified until just this week. It's disappointing that the public wasn't given the chance to weigh in on this subject, and give the Governor feedback whether they think that his commissioners deserved such a large taxpayer-funded pay increase.
Most families I know won't see a $35,000 pay increase over the next five or ten years let alone in a single year.
The legislature will be looking in the coming weeks at reversing the law from 2013 and putting salary decisions back in the hands of the legislature where it belongs so that the public can give their input on these important matters.
Have a great weekend,
Mark Uglem
State Representative, District 36A