ST. PAUL – State Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Acton Township, has accepted an appointment to the conference committee which is preparing this year’s K-12 education omnibus finance bill (HF 2400) for final passage.
Urdahl is the only minority state Representative among the five House members named to the conference committee. The group will work to reconcile differences between House and Senate proposals to fund K-12 education in the state’s next budget.
A former high school teacher of more than three decades, Urdahl said he is pleased to have a seat at the table when crucial education-related decisions are made during the final stretch of the 2019 session, set to adjourn May 20.
“With split majority powers in the Legislature, there are great differences between what the House and Senate are offering in their respective K-12 proposals,” Urdahl said. “Our children’s education is too important to let partisanship get in the way of finishing our work on time, so it’s going to require some give and take to reach an agreement. I look forward to this challenge and hope we come up with a final bill that nobody loves but everyone can support; that’s the true nature of compromise.”
Urdahl was appointed to the post by House Speaker Rep. Melissa Hortman, D-Brooklyn Park.
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