2011 issue brief: funding

Early childhood through 12th-grade education funding
The problem:

Class sizes are increasing, educational programs are being cut, and opportunities for students are being eliminated—and the problem continues to worsen.
Minnesota school districts are operating on substantially less revenue per student, after inflation, than they did eight years ago.
Inflation-adjusted state aid has declined by more than $1,400 per pupil, or 14.7 percent, since the 2003 fiscal year, when the state assumed responsibility for funding schools.¹
Minnesota’s per-pupil spending was 1.2 percent below the national average by 2008, the most recent year for which figures are available. Our state also ranked 40th in per-pupil spending per $1,000 of personal income.²
Insufficient state funding has forced local communities to raise property taxes, when able to do so, to try to make up the difference. As a result, property taxes rose by $900 per pupil during the 2003-11 period (adjusted for inflation).³
Increased reliance on property taxes has worsened inequities between districts that can pass levies and those that cannot.
The accounting shifts imposed by former Gov. Tim Pawlenty also created significant cash flow problems for school districts, and there is no plan to repay the funds borrowed from students’ education.

¹ Jeff Van Wychen, “School Funding Declines Projected to Continue,” Minnesota 2020, Jan. 4, 2011
² U.S. Census Bureau, “Public Education Finances 2008,” June 2010
³ Van Wychen, ibid.

The solution:

Lawmakers must keep K-12 funding at least at the level required under current law to meet statutory requirements and to provide for growth in the student population.
Funds must also be provided to reduce class sizes, improve teacher training and evaluation, expand early childhood programs, and take other proven steps to raise student achievement.
In addition, lawmakers in 2011 should make at least a “down payment” on repaying the school funding shift.
Lawmakers must not stop at short-term fixes. Minnesota’s school funding system must be permanently reformed to make it:
- Equitable: All students should have access to quality programs.
- Sustainable: Revenue sources should be stable enough to withstand economic downturns.
- Predictable: The Legislature should commit funding in such a way that school districts can plan their revenues and expenditures.
- Sufficient: The state must provide enough money to meet its expectations for schools.

For more information, contact:
Jan Alswager, chief lobbyist, 651-292-4890
Jodee Buhr, lobbyist, 651-292-4830

January 25, 2011