St. Paul, Minnesota — Today, Governor Mark Dayton, DFL legislative leaders, and Minnesota Management and Budget announced that Minnesota schools were repaid an additional $636 million at the end of the 2013 fiscal year.
Minnesota has now repaid nearly $2.6 billion of the $2.8 billion previously borrowed from schools under the 2011 budget passed by the then-GOP controlled Legislature.
“From the beginning we said that doing the right thing and paying back our schools was a top priority, and we followed through,” said state Representative Joe Radinovich (DFL – Crosby). “This is good news for our students and their schools, and is another step in the right direction.”
As a result of the 2013 budget passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Dayton, education received an increase of over $600 million, including the accelerated pay back of the school shift. The budget also included funding of all-day kindergarten starting in the fall of 2014, $40 million for early childhood scholarships, and a two-year college tuition freeze.
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.
“What’s happening in Minnesota is in direct, clear contrast to what is happening in Washington DC,” added Rep. Radinovich. “While they’re governing by crisis in Washington, we worked together to pass the first honestly balanced budget in years, invested in a brighter future for our state, and as a result, our economy continues to grow and Minnesota continues to move forward.”
The full release from Minnesota Management & Budget’s can be found here: Preliminary FY 2013 Closing Balance of $636 Million Allocated to School Shift Buy Back
Rep. Radinovich encourages constituents to contact him with any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas on Lifeline or any legislative topic. Rep. Radinovich can be reached by phone at 651-296-2365 or by email at rep.joe.radinovich@house.mn. Constituents can also visit Rep. Radinovich’s legislative page and sign up for email updates.