Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

We must insure that our schools and teachers get the resources they need to give all Minnesota students equal opportunities to succeed.
The State of Minnesota is not adequately funding our public schools. In the 2003 legislative session, before I was elected, Minnesota's budget deficit was balanced by cutting funding for public education. These cuts resulted in teachers being laid off, growing class sizes, increased fees, and lost educational opportunities, as well as an increasing reliance on local property taxes and referendums to meet educational needs.
During the 2005 budget year the legislature restored some of the funding to our schools, with annual increases of 4% for each of the following fiscal years. This funding stopped further budget cuts but did not make up for the cuts of previous years. And part of the additional funding was not real money from the state, but came in the form of authority to raise property tax levies.
At the college level, University of Minnesota and MNSCU students are again facing double-digit increases in tuition, making college education unaffordable for many.
Our children are the workers, parents and leaders of tomorrow. Our future success as an economy and as a democracy depends upon the tools we give our children today. That is why a strong public education system benefits all of us--young and old alike. Education becomes ever more important as the world becomes more complex and our economy becomes more global. Our state must take much bolder steps to protect this precious resource.
As your state representative I will continue to work for quality opportunities for all our students. This includes investing in early childhood education and ensuring fair funding throughout the state's many school districts. We also cannot continue to allow the state to saddle our schools and teachers with more red tape and unfunded mandates--such as imposing new academic standards without providing funds to implement them. We cannot punish schools that are struggling to provide a quality education to high-need students. Instead, we must insure that our schools and teachers get the resources they need to give all Minnesota students equal opportunities to succeed.

Source