Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Legislative News and Views - Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein (DFL)

Back to profile

Dayton and Kunesh-Podein Work to Protect Local Education Funding

Thursday, May 3, 2018

ST. PAUL, Minn. – This week, Gov. Mark Dayton announced plans for $137.9 million in one-time Emergency School Aid for school districts across Minnesota. Currently, more than 26 school districts in the metro area and 33 school districts in Greater Minnesota are facing immediate budget deficits that could result in hundreds of teachers and support staff being laid off, along with significant programming cuts. The proposal would increase school funding by two percent in the coming year, amounting to an additional $126 for every student in Minnesota.

 

The Columbia Heights School District is projected to have a budget shortfall in 2018-2019 of $400,000. The St. Anthony-New Brighton School District will have a projected budget shortfall of $1,050,000. The new funding proposed by Governor Dayton would amount to an additional $622,000 for the Columbia Heights School District, $255,000 for the St. Anthony-New Brighton Schools, and $1.7 million for the Mounds View School District. 

 

Representative Mary Kunesh-Podein (DFL- New Brighton) released the following statement:

 

“For too long, our schools have gotten by with barely enough, and today we are facing the result of that. Our schools need emergency funding. The value of quality education is not a partisan issue, and finding the funds in a time of state surplus shouldn’t be.”