Senate E-12 Education budget

The bill provides funding for the Basic Formula Allowance, which provides the majority of the education funding for schools; however, the amount appropriated does not keep pace with inflation, meaning schools will still be faced with potential budget cuts over the coming two years.

The bill provides no new funding for voluntary PreK programs, special education, and school support service staff, such as counselors and nurses. The bill is less than half of Governor Dayton’s two-year budget proposal. The bill also lacks adequate funding to help stem Minnesota’s teacher shortage and adds burdensome unfunded mandates to schools.Appropriations for mentoring partnerships, full service community schools, and Girls in Action are eliminated for the coming two-year budget period.

On the positive side, the bill does provide funding for some of the state’s children’s museums, parent-child home visiting grants and agricultural education grants. It also provides funding to increase teachers of color in Minnesota classrooms, however, those in support of the bill testified that much more was needed to budget the state’s gap between white teachers and teachers of color.

source:Senator Bobby Joe Champion