Greetings,

March 16 Legislative Report from MFT Lobbyist Julie Sabo

The Senate DFL majority released a budget proposal last week.  Billed as the “big fix”, it would put the state in balance and provide stable funding for the future. The plan includes $2 billion in new revenue, including a $1 billion to education, and across-the-board cuts.  Once again, like the Governor’s budget proposal, it is a starting point for negotiations with the House and Governor.  What it demonstrates is the level of cuts needed, with substantial new revenue, to get MN out of the deep hole that we’ve been dug into for the past six years.  It demonstrates that without substantial new revenue deeper cuts would be needed to achieve a balanced budget. 

Will the Governor continue to refuse to support new revenue?  Is he willing to cut even more and leave us in a deeper hole in the next biennium with no federal onetime money to buffer the pain?  As one Legislator said last week, “sacred cows moo loud.”  In Minnesota, there is nothing more sacred than our public schools.  Can we moo louder than the anti-tax cow?  If Minnesota does not achieve fiscal stability, E-12 may be looking at additional cuts for years to come.

In the House K-12 Committee, Representatives heard testimony on a bill to provide a short-term fix for the GRAD test dilemma.   It would allow students to receive a diploma based on successful completion of course work if they are unable to pass the GRAD after several attempts with remediation.  This would reinstitute some confidence in teacher professional judgment.  The MCA test, it was pointed out, was never intended to evaluate individual students, but as a system check.  How the Legislature handles this issue will have immediate and lasting impact on many students.

In the Senate E-12 committee, Senators heard testimony on a bill to reduce mandates on school districts.  One of the mandates the MN School Boards Association wants to eliminate is elementary prep time.  Some of those mandates we, as teachers, would obviously like to keep and, so far, the Senators agreed.  The Senate Charter School Sub Committee also met to review a bill to increase the requirements and modify the organization of charter schools.

In the coming week, the Governor and the House are expected to release budget proposals based on the most recent fiscal forecast.  The Pension Commission will be hearing the Teacher Pension Reform bill that increases benefits and puts funding into a phased-in plan.