Minnesota school leaders testify about budget woes in Senate hearing
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Superintendents, principals and others from school districts large and small on Wednesday told a Senate panel that they are facing budget woes, despite record funding for education approved in the last few years.
The current two-year budget gave K-12 education a $2.2 billion boost for schools. That included indexing base school funding to the rate of inflation.
Other investments were a one-time cash infusion for short-term needs, like training teachers on new reading instruction guidelines, but other money is tied to specific programs. The Legislature also approved a slate of new policies impacting schools, too.
In the Senate Education Policy Committee, some education leaders testified that those new requirements — in addition to inflation, declining enrollment, and lapsed federal pandemic aid — leave schools still falling short.
"The resources that we receive — [we're] very much appreciative. And we also know that some of the issues that we're contending with at the local level derive from some of our under and or unfunded mandates," said Superintendent Michael Thomas of Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools.
His district is facing a $4 million deficit next year. They plan for revenues to increase 2.5% to 3% each year, but expenses have been growing by 5%, Thomas added.
In Anoka-Hennepin Public Schools, the state's largest district, there is a $26 million budget shortfall. The school board has approved some cuts already and more are coming, the superintendent told lawmakers.
"We're going to be looking at, unfortunately, having to impact class size, academic and behavior support — including our efforts in literacy and the READ Act — support for safety and school behavior, and just programming choices that our students enjoy and expect from us," said Cory McIntyre, the head of the district.
A key funding change cheered by supporters at the capitol is tying the school funding formula to the rate of inflation. Thomas told the lawmakers if that happened a decade ago, Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools would've had an extra $11 million in their budget — critical resources to support students.
"We are suffering the consequences of many, many decisions over many, many decades," said Sen. Erin May Quade, DFL-Apple Valley. "We have to dig our way out of a hole."
Farmington Area Schools are facing a $4.4 million deficit, said school board chair Kyle Christensen, and that's after the district made similar cuts to those seen elsewhere to shore up resources.
"We need this to be the situation where you all finally hear the urgency of our situation," he explained. "We're grateful for all of the revenue, but we could do without all the restrictions on the time, place and purpose it can be used."
Republicans, who lead the committee on Wednesday under the terms of a power-sharing agreement in that chamber, asked district leaders to share their experiences to inform their work at the capitol this year.
"What I hope to have members understand by the end of the committee today is if the state is accomplishing what is needed for students in the most cost-effective and least intrusive manner possible, and if we are being respectful of the different needs and local goals of a wide variety of communities in Minnesota," said Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Waconia.
Passing the next two-year budget is the big task of the Legislature this session and the state's financial picture has changed from the last budget-writing year when there was a nearly $18 billion budget surplus on the table. A lot of that money could only be used on a one-time basis, May-Quade noted in committee.
A new budget — and any changes to any school policies that are cause for concern for some schools — need to pass both chambers on a bipartisan basis before the session ends.
But an ongoing power dispute in the state House clouds the future of the session. Minnesota House Democrats continued their boycott of the session on Wednesday ahead of oral arguments before the Minnesota Supreme Court in a case that could resolve the conflict between Republicans and Democrats over who can and should control the chamber.