Prioritizing Kids Over Agencies and Bureaucracies
by Senator Nathan Wesenberg
We’ve been hearing a lot about education issues this year. Schools have been struggling. Frankly, they’re drowning thanks to the 65+ mandates that Democrats handed down to them over the last few years. It’s forcing them to consider layoffs, program cuts, and levies. It’s a terrible place for them to be in and will affect every student, family, and taxpayer in the state.
Our state had a $19 billion surplus in 2023, and Democrats totally depleted it, in part because of the funding they threw into education. While that might sound good, the fact of the matter is nearly all of that “historic education funding” they loved touting was actually tied to mandates. So it meant in the long run, schools were expected to do more with less. It’s been a nightmare for many districts in our state. Now, our most recent forecast shows us staring down a $6 billion deficit. With schools struggling and Democrats unwilling to provide mandate relief, where does that leave our students? Their needs have been completely abandoned.
One alarming thing I want to point out is that Governor Walz’s proposed budget cuts a number of services that families rely on. He wants to eliminate both funding for special needs students and funding to private and charter schools. This is ridiculous to me because these schools offer a variety of services to students who may not be able to thrive and learn in a public school. Students and their families should have options, yet Governor Walz doesn’t want that. He wants all students forced into the public schools, which get more funding per student anyways. So not only will this not save the state any money, but it will hurt kids. It’s a ridiculous proposal.
Not too long ago, Superintendents and School Board members came to the senate in droves to testify about how harmful Democrats’ burdensome mandates have been on their schools. All we keep hearing is that they’re going to fall off a fiscal cliff, and the Governor’s proposal to cut funding is only going to make the whole situation worse. With a massive deficit, it makes sense for Democrats to put some of the costly mandates on hold, and allow schools to opt out of them so they can put money in the areas they need it the most. Yet that’s not being discussed at all. What’s even worse is that Governor Walz’s proposal fails to provide any meaningful cuts to agencies like the Department of Education. So Democrats keep claiming we should be prepared to make cuts, but they mean to students, not agencies. That’s unacceptable.
What we’ve seen in budget proposals so far will only make things worse for students, families, taxpayers, and schools. Yet MDE gets to remain insulated with their hundreds of employees. This is backwards. We should be making life better for students and families, not harder. Senate Republicans have been saying “Students First” for years, because we should prioritize their needs instead of the needs of bureaucrats and state agencies. Democrats are prioritizing agencies, we want to prioritize kids.
We’re putting forward a slate of bills that allow schools to have flexibility with the burdensome Democrat mandates and also provide parents with information necessary to keep their kids safe in the classroom. Our plan is commonsense – it puts our kids and their needs first. In my opinion, this shouldn’t even be a conversation. By locking schools into mandates they can’t afford, like Democrats have been doing since 2023, we are effectively taking money away from students and their needs. We need to change our approach.
It’s inarguable: we have a $6 billion deficit created by Democrats, and cuts need to be made. We should be looking at areas of waste and fraud first, then bloated state agencies, and then we should provide schools with the flexibility they need to help students. It’s common sense, and I will continue advocating for these changes as we move into the final stretch of session.