All public school children must have equal access to a high quality education regardless of where they live in Minnesota.
|
|
|
Legislative Update A Communication for Parents and Education Supporters in SEE Districts | February 18, 2011 |
If this is your first Legislative Update from SEE - Welcome!
For those who have been with us through the years - Thank you! SEE publishes this Legislative Update weekly during the legislative session.
Brad Lundell, Executive Director for SEE, writes a blog on almost a daily basis. For up-to-date information about what is happening at the capitol visit Brad's Blog. |
|
|
|
|
What's happening at the Capitol
Governor Mark Dayton released his budget on Tuesday. Read the budget highlights summary. Governor Dayton's Budget Proposal Presentation. Read more.
The simplest summary is:
$4.1 billion in increased taxes
$0.9 billion in cuts
$1.4 billion - 70/30 school payment shift
$6.4 billion - deficit would be resolved
Immediately, the republican majority leaders of the House and Senate expressed their disdain for the large tax increase. They reiterated their determination to eliminate the deficit through cuts only.
Dayton's tax plan would affect about 5% of the households in Minnesota; individuals making more than $85,000 and couples making more than $150,000 after deductions. The tax rate for this new tier increases from 7.65% to 10.95%, strategically determined to remain under the highest tax rate in the nation which is 11%. In addition, those making more than $500,000 after deductions would pay an additional temporary 3% tax surcharge, making the top effective tax rate 13.95% for the next three years. Minnesota has a graduated tax system. For example, an individual making $130,000, would only pay the higher 10.95% on the $40,000 their earn over the $85,000 tier.
The tax chairs have stated that Dayton's proposed tax increases won't even make it out of their committees. |
Committe deadlines set
Both the House and Senate have set the committee deadlines where bills must pass out of a specific committee to continue through the legislative process. In an unusual move, the deadline for appropriation (funding) bills is first and set for Friday, March 25th. Thus, in the next few weeks, leadership will determine how much funding will be cut (the target) in each area of government including education.
After the targets are set, the committees will craft the appropriation bills and pass them out of the committee by the deadline. Now is a good time to send a quick note to your legislators asking them to encourage their leadership to keep the promise to not cut K-12 education funding.
|
|
What happens next with the budget?
The legislative budget bills should get to the governor around the end of March. The governor will not sign a bill with cuts only into law. The open process ends at this point. The state leaders have about 8 weeks before the session ends to negotiate a budget agreement. The governor and the legislative leadership will meet behind closed doors searching for that elusive compromise.
The governor's proposal is just the starting point. What, if any, provisions get into the final negotiated agreement remains to be seen. |
|
How K-12 education fairs in the Governor's budget
As promised during his campaign, Dayton's budget holds education funding flat with a small dedicated increase. He wants to direct $33 million to schools to provide all-day kindergarten for high-risk children by increasing the weighting from 0.612 to 1.0 for kindergarteners qualifying for free or reduced lunch, $11.9 million to launch an "excellence in education award" to highlight schools showing extraordinary growth aimed to encourage the sharing of best practices, $5.1 million grant program to encourage innovation through the use of technology to close the achievement gap, and $2 million to expand a state-wide early-childhood rating system. See the education portion of the budget for more details.
He continues the shift that delays payment of 30% of the funding for our schools. He does propose to pay back the shift over ten years starting in 2013. |
|
What can you do?
The decisions that will most impact our children and their schools are made at the STATE Capitol. Since children can't advocate for themselves, it up to us to be their voice.
Stay informed. Take the time to read SEE Legislative Updates. I will work to keep you informed and will suggest ways that you can help. Be prepared to act at critical times when I send out action alerts. Action can be as simple as sending an email or making a phone call.
Pass these updates on and ask your friends to sign up to receive SEE's Legislative Updates so they too can be part of our network. Now is the time to build a education supporters network so we can respond when critical times occur during the legislative session. In this political world, it is the voice of many that can make a difference.
Email or call your legislators now! Copy the Senate and House leadership. Leadership is determining whether or not to cut education funding. Let your legislators know how important K-12 public education is to you and encourage them to speak with their leadership asking them to not cut funding to our schools. Find out who represents you.
You can cut and paste the leadership addresses into your email:
|
|
If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me.
|
|
|
|
|
