Friends and neighbors,
Despite an additional $2.2 billion in education funding last year, school districts across Minnesota are facing crippling budget shortfalls. Why? Because Democrats also imposed over 60 heavy new mandates on schools.
This week, Senate Republicans announced a proposal that would repair the damage from the Democrat budget and give schools relief from these crushing mandates. Our plan would empower local school boards with flexibility over how they spend state assistance. They could transfer funds to wherever they have the greatest, most pressing needs. Schools must be able to adapt funding to their unique situations, without cutting staff pay or raising taxes on hardworking families. Bureaucrats at the capitol need to stop tying the hands of local school officials.
Even before the Democrats’ controversial mandates passed, one suburban superintendent warned they were “potentially one of the most damaging” they’d ever seen. On top of that, falling enrollment and the expiration of federal pandemic aid have created a perfect storm to crush school budgets.
Democrats will likely claim that our proposal cuts school funding. Don’t buy it, because it is not true. Our plan simply stops reckless policies that give control to state bureaucrats and restores the flexibility schools need. We have to put students first and stop using them as pawns in Democrats’ radical agenda.
If you have any questions, please reach out any time. Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,