Rep. Barrett meets with Gov. Dayton to discuss local low-funded school districts
Barrett explains the Vikings stadium shortfall could take $30 million from already low-funded school districts
St. Paul – As most people who follow the legislative process are aware, one of my major goals is to reduce the funding gap between Chisago County school districts and urban/metro districts. This week I met with Governor Dayton to discuss alternative routes to remedy this problem.
Historically, Minneapolis, St. Paul and other metro school districts have received much higher K-12 education funding from the state. These communities also have more commercial and industrial properties which reduce the overall tax impact of voter approved levies on their residents.
On a bi-partisan basis, I and other rural representatives have worked together to author bills that provide solutions to these inequities. As a result of these efforts, the current House K-12 Education Finance omnibus bill provides additional money for North Branch and other schools that are in the bottom 10 percent of school funding in Minnesota.
Unfortunately, the Senate’s K-12 Education bill would not provide as much help as the House version, and Governor Dayton’s education budget proposal avoids the problem altogether.
In response, I called Governor Dayton last week asking for a meeting to discuss low funded school districts and the current Vikings stadium funding shortfall which, if not solved, will take $30 million dollars from K-12 education and health and human services.
The governor and I had a very positive and productive meeting yesterday regarding both the Vikings stadium shortfall and the historical shortfall in funding for rural districts like North Branch and Chisago Lakes.
My goal for the meeting was to inform him of my strong desire to work together to solve both related issues. The meeting was a success, and I look forward to collaborating with the governor and my colleagues across the aisle to ensure our state’s children have the same educational opportunities, regardless of zip code.
Please feel free to contact me about education funding or any other issue of state government. I can be reached at (651) 296-5377 or rep.bob.barrett@house.mn. I look forward to your valuable input.
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Rep. Barrett can be reached by phone at (651) 296-5377. He can also be contacted via e-mail at rep.bob.barrett@house.mn, or via U.S. Mail at 287 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155.