Minnesota and federal governments have dramatically changed requirements for our students and schools: Today our schools are charged with ensuring that every student, regardless of language barriers or disability, meets higher state-determined learning standards.
Yet Minnesota has not modernized our approach to school funding to meet new achievement requirements.
Current education funding is:
- Out of date and in need of overhaul.
- Inadequate to meet the demands of 21st Century workforce preparation.
- Not linked to student needs.
P.S. Minnesota, a non-partisan coalition of education and parent groups, advocates for adequate, sustainable education funding that’s rationally tied to student achievement and need. We call on our legislators and Gov. Pawlenty to:
- Convene the legislative School Education Reform Task Force, charged with issuing recommendations for education funding reform to the legislature in 2008.
- Use the available funding studies - such as P.S. Minnesota’s Funding Framework, APA’s Phase 2 Adequacy Report, and Gov. Pawlenty’s Task Force report - as the basis for Task Force recommendations, rather than delaying the decision-making process with yet another study.
Understand the costs
It is clear from independent research that if Minnesota is to ensure that all students meet federal and state performance expectations, we must significantly increase our investment in public education. A $1 billion annual additional investment will educate our children to today’s performance standards. Two billion dollars in annual additional investment is needed to educate our children to tomorrow’s standards.
The evidence is overwhelming that the time for education funding reform is now: Minnesota’s current investment in education falls short of what is required to ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve state and federally mandated standards.
Education and the Minnesota Constitution
Our forefathers knew the value of public education. That’s why Section 1 of Article XIII of the Minnesota Constitution states:
UNIFORM SYSTEM OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it is the duty of the legislature to establish a general and uniform system of public schools. The legislature shall make such provisions by taxation or otherwise as will secure a thorough and efficient system of public schools throughout the state.
Legislative update
November 6, 2007
School Finance Reform Task Force Met Oct. 30. More...
Get real-time updates from P.S. Minnesota about education action and progress at the Minnesota legislature.
