Here’s how Republicans delivered results for K-12 schools in 2019
Minnesotans take pride in our education system. No matter which party is in charge or the state of the economy, Minnesota have always maintained a strong bipartisan commitment to excellent schools.
Ever since you trusted Republicans with the Senate majority three years ago, we have honored that commitment.
The first education budget to be crafted by Republicans became law in 2017. Families with young children were overjoyed by the results. That budget invested $18.7 billion into Minnesota schools, a massive $1.3 billion increase from the previous year. It also included 2% annual increases to the per-student funding formula, which was a top priority of teachers and education advocates.
Republicans cleaned up some broken areas of the budget, too. We renewed Minnesota’s focus on third grade reading proficiency. This is a proven benchmark of future success in school, and Republicans are committed to making sure every student meets it.
Republicans overhauled the state’s teacher licensure system. Many areas of Minnesota are facing teacher shortages; students were paying the price for Minnesota’s licensing system that was not meeting the needs of students in classrooms. The Republican budget emphasized increasing the number of qualified experts in the classroom, so all students have an opportunity to learn from a great teacher.
Republicans made the Compensatory Aid program permanent, which helped our schools provide additional resources and services to students to help them overcome disadvantages and close Minnesota’s persistent achievement gap.
The 2019 budget gives parents just as much reason to be excited. We invested over $20 billion into schools and provided 2% annual increases to the per-student formula. This is funding that goes directly to the classrooms, so you can be sure schools have the resources they need to give your child a wonderful education, regardless of where you live.
That means school districts in our area will all be seeing significant funding increases.
- Anoka-Hennepin: $183 per student increase; $6.97 million total increase
- St. Francis: $180 per student increase; $765,900 total increase
- Princeton: $173 per student increase; $572,803 total increase
- Elk River: $172 per student increase; $2.30 million total increase
- Forest Lake: $195 per student increase; $1.18 million total increase
- Cambridge-Isanti: $186 per student increase; $916,794 total increase
Special education is an increasing budget area of concern for many school districts. In fact, specialized support for students with learning or physical disabilities or behavioral problems amounts to more than 20% of Minnesota’s general-fund education spending. This year we provided $90 million to help schools cover some of these growing costs. Securing this funding was a top priority for public schools.
None of these resources matter if students aren’t safe. We approved an additional $30 million for school safety funding. This is money that schools can use for security upgrades, infrastructure improvements, or to hire counselors, psychologists, nurses, school resources officers, and other professionals that will keep your children safe.
Funding is only one component of great schools. The other is trust. Schools can easily become hamstrung by top-down, excessive mandates from St. Paul. When the legislature reconvenes next year, I will focus on reforms that put more trust in your local teachers and administrators – the ones who know your kids best. They should have as much flexibility as possible to determine what programs are working, what needs improvement, and what should be scrapped.
If you have any ideas or feedback, I would love to hear it. Please contact me any time at 651-296-3219, sen.michelle.benson@senate.mn, or find me on Facebook at facebook.com/senatorbenson.