State House Democrats push to restructure schools funding
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Democrats in the Minnesota House have introduced legislation to restructure and simplify the funding system for public schools.
Under the so-called "New Minnesota Miracle," the state would pay the full cost of education basics.
A new funding formula would give equal weight to every student. And independent research would determine the additional costs of teaching students with special needs.
But with the state facing a $4.8 billion budget deficit, DFL Representative Mindy Greiling of Roseville said the changes will have to be phased in over several years.
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"If it's fully implemented it would be, counting the property tax relief, $2 billion to $2.5 billion. So, of course that's not going to happen this year, but that shows us how far behind we are in this 'no new taxes era,' this 'not investing in students era, relying on property taxes era.' We would like to turn that around," Greiling said.
House Republican Minority Leader Marty Seifert of Marshall says he's also interested in education reform.
"When we're $5 billion in the hole, the question I have is first, 'Where are you going to get the first $5 billion from?' and then, 'Where are you going to get the other $2.5 billion from?'" Seifert said.
But Seifert says the DFL-backed bill does not seem realistic given the current budget situation.
