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Capitol View®
Catharine Richert

PoliGraph: Is education spending going up or down?

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As the 2015 legislative session begins one issue that will be debated is how to close the academic achievement gap between white students and students of color.

Democrats and Republicans agree it’s a problem, but disagree on what to do to solve it. They even disagree on how much money the state has been spending on education.

In his inaugural address this week, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton called for more spending on programs like early childhood education, advanced courses in high schools and longer school years.

All those things will cost more money. Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt is skeptical that more spending will solve the problem. He says the state already puts a lot of money into education.

“Some critics will say:  Invest more money in education?  But we spend so much already!  Unfortunately, No – we don’t. According to the most recent US Census report, Minnesota presently ranks 24th among the 50 states in per-pupil Elementary and Secondary School spending.  Our state’s support for Higher Education in real dollars recently fell to its lowest level in 30 years.” -- Gov. Mark Dayton, Inaugural address

The Census report Dayton’s referring to is the most recent publication on per pupil spending across the states. It ranks Minnesota 24

th

in per pupil spending based on the roughly $10,000 the state invests in each student annually.

The report comes with some caveats. For instance, states calculate per pupil spending differently, so comparing data state-to-state isn’t totally reliable. And the numbers don’t account for discrepancies in the cost-of-living from area to area.

Additionally, the report was published in 2014, but only includes information from 2012 – so that means new K-12 education investments, including a 1.5 percent increase in the per pupil funding formula, approved during the 2013-2014 session may have changed Minnesota’s ranking.

[image]

As a result, this part of Dayton's claim is inconclusive because there is no new data on how much more - or less - other states are spending per student.

According to inflation adjusted higher education spending, Dayton is basically correct on his second point. In fiscal year 2012, state spending dropped to its lowest point in nearly three decades. Dayton went on in his speech to say that recent higher education investments approved during the last legislative session have boosted spending once again.

“You know, we’re spending 30 percent more money on K-12 education today that we were 10 years ago. If money were the answer, we’d have probably one of the best education systems in the world.” -- GOP House Speaker Kurt Daudt, in response to Dayton’s call for more education funding.

There are several ways to look at education spending over the course of the last decade and, in most cases, education spending has gone up by 30 percent or more.

[image]

But those figures aren’t adjusted for inflation.

For instance, Daudt’s staff points to the most recent Minnesota Management and Budget Price of Government report to make their case. The document shows that state aid for education in fiscal year 2005 was about $6 billion.

In the current fiscal year, state aid is about $8 billion – a roughly 30 percent increase in spending. Adjusted for inflation, it’s more like a 10 percent increase.

The Verdict

Dayton’s claims about education spending aren't completely off-base. But recent new investments in education change his numbers and it's difficult to say how Minnesota compares to other states on per pupil spending.

Daudt’s claim is on shakier ground. A 30 percent increase sounds large, but shrinks significantly when accounting for inflation (though the state is still spending more on education). As a result Daudt’s claim leans toward misleading.

Editor's Note

The on-air version of this story incorrectly paraphrased Kurt Daudt as saying he thinks the state spends "too much" on education. Daudt did not say that.

This was his full comment: "We’re spending 30 percent more money on K-12 education today that we were 10 years ago. If money were the answer, we’d have probably one of the best education systems in the world. I believe we’ve got the best teachers in the world, but for some reason our achievement gap continues to be a problem. So, I don’t think the answer is just money.”