Governor vetoes education, other budget bills

Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed all nine Republican budget and tax bills May 23, including the E-12 and higher education bills. The governor said Republicans’ all-cuts budget solution would have “serious consequences for Minnesotans,” and he repeated his call for a compromise.

The vetoes mean the bills are dead for now, although it’s possible that some proposals could be revived later as part of a budget agreement. The Legislature adjourned at midnight May 23 and won’t meet again until the governor calls a special session.

Education Minnesota President Tom Dooher expressed support for the governor’s decision, saying the GOP budget “took away millions of dollars from students who need the most help” and would have meant higher college tuition, fewer courses and hundreds of faculty layoffs.

Dayton said he rejected the E-12 bill because it pits districts against districts, cuts school funding by nearly $44 million, imposes unproven policies that are controversial and “punitive to teachers,” and diverts public dollars to private school vouchers, “an experiment that has not worked in other states.”

Other concerns listed in the governor’s veto letter included:

Cuts to special education funding.
Elimination of integration revenue and freezing of compensatory revenue, which “wrongfully harms” poor and minority children.
A proposed “A-F” school grading system, based on test scores.
Attacks on collective bargaining.
Teacher evaluations, which Republicans want to tie tightly to test scores.
Prohibitions on adoption of common core standards.
Cuts to the Department of Education, on top of 15 percent staff reductions in the state government bill and eight previous years of cuts.

However, the governor said he believes there is potential ground for compromise in areas such as early reading proficiency and recognition of high-achieving schools.

Dayton rejected the higher education bill because of deep cuts for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and the University of Minnesota, as well as severe cuts to the Office of Higher Education, which administers student financial aid.

Other proposals harmful to education and educators disappeared in the veto of the state government finance and tax bills. In addition, a number of other harmful proposals had not completed the legislative process before the Legislature adjourned.

May 24, 2011