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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Dale Lueck (R)

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Aitkin school receiving state grant for safety upgrades

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

ST. PAUL – Rep. Dale Lueck, R-Aitkin, issued the following statement regarding news that Aitkin High School is receiving $495,000 in school safety grant funding.

Last session, the Legislature approved and Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law $25 million in capital investment funds that schools could apply for to make physical safety improvements. The Minnesota Department of Education formally announced the grant allocations in a news release.

“This is important funding to help make our schools a safer place for our children,” Lueck said. “As a member of the House Capital Investment Committee, I was a strong supporter of providing money for security upgrades at our schools. There was intense competition for the school safety funding we made available in the capital investment bill. It’s a credit to the strong leadership by our local school officials who were successful in securing this funding. Congratulations to those involved and I look forward to continuing efforts to bring our schools up to par from a safety standpoint.”

The Legislature approved an additional $25 million in school safety grants as part of a supplemental budget bill, however that funding was vetoed by Dayton.

“The need still exists for more school safety enhancements; it’s clear we have more to do,” Lueck said. “Despite the Dayton Administration’s refusal to provide the additional funding needed for enhanced school safety, I remain confident that we can work with a new governor on resolving this important issue in 2019.”

Early in 2019, the newly elected governor will present a proposed two-year state budget to the Legislature for consideration. The Legislature and the governor’s office will then work out the final details of that budget which will take effect July 1, 2019. That legislation will include funding for the Education Department, along with budget bills for Minnesota’s other state agencies.

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