ST. PAUL, MN – Today, Governor Mark Dayton and legislative leaders announced that Minnesota schools were repaid an additional $636 million at the end of the 2013 fiscal year.
Under the leadership of Governor Dayton and the DFL-led legislature, Minnesota has now repaid nearly $2.6 billion of the $2.8 billion that was previously borrowed from our schools, known as the “school shift.”
“This is great news for our schools and our youngsters,” said Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL – Balsam Township). “We made a commitment to pay those funds back. Thanks to the accelerated repayment plan in our new state budget, we’re following through on that commitment.”
The new state budget signed into law this spring by Governor Dayton is projected to begin the next biennium with a surplus. The budget also invested over $600 million in Minnesota’s students – reversing a decade of disinvestment in education. This new funding is directed toward strategies proven to close the achievement gap, raise graduation rates, and improve career and college readiness.
Today’s announcement comes just after Minnesota added 12,200 jobs in August, pushing total jobs in the state over the pre-recession peak that was reached in February 2008, and less than a week after Minnesota was ranked eighth in the “Forbes 2013 List of the Best States for Business” rankings.
“We’re seeing more and more signs that Minnesota’s economy is headed in the right direction, but we’ve got more work to do when it comes to job creation,” added Rep. Anzelc.
“I recently joined a bipartisan group of state lawmakers in our region to highlight projects like improvements to Itasca Community College and the Reif Performing Arts Center that would put people back to work. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure these projects make it into the bonding bill next year. It’s one of my top priorities for the 2014 legislative session.”
Rep. Anzelc encourages his constituents to contact him with any questions, comments, or other feedback. He can be reached by phone at (651) 296-4936, by email at rep.tom.anzelc@house.mn, or by postal mail at 517 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.