Despite Election Results, Minnesota Still Failing Students
November 4th, 2009 at 9:15 am By John Fitzgerald
It’s easy to be pleased with a success rate of better than 70 percent in the 2009 school district levy elections, but it is important to remember that the elections themselves are a result of the state’s failure of leadership.
As per the state’s constitution and law, Minnesota should be providing enough money to properly operate schools. If schools want “extras,” they are allowed to run levy referenda to ask local voters to increase property taxes to provide them.
Sadly, the state doesn’t provide enough money to support schools, forcing districts to ask voters for enough money just to keep the doors open.
In fact, there are only fewer than 10 districts that do not have operating district levies. Three of those – Moorhead, Ogilvie and North Branch – asked voters to add levy funds to their state aid and were turned down Tuesday.
State investment in schools has dropped an inflation-adjusted 13 percent since 2003. To make matters worse, Gov. Tim Pawlenty helped balance the state’s budget deficit by shifting 27 percent of state education aid back each year, creating a short-term cash crunch for every school district in the state. School districts statewide will spend as much as $23 million in 2007 and $35 million in 2011 to cover the interest for the tax shift.
For a comprehensive list of the school levy referenda, visit the Minnesota School Board Association’s website.
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You’ve got to be kidding!! The only thing failing MN students is big government Ed!! We don’t need to throw more money at the schools-per student funding is already way too high. Why is it that private schools seem to do so much better on less? Wake up big education and take a lesson from the private sector.