[Winona Online Democracy]
startribune.com
Last update: May 31, 2005 at 7:14 PM
Even after 2001 reform, schools relied on property tax
Lori Grivna
Published June 1, 2005
The May 25 editorial "Education funding / Senate plan is still
strongest" accurately describes the debate occurring in the Legislature
about how to fund our public schools. However, the editorial's
conclusion that providing a portion of school funding through the
property tax "chips away at district-to-district equity and at the
state's commitment to funding a major share of school costs" simply does
not hold up under scrutiny.
Since 2001, when the Legislature passed property tax and education
funding reform legislation, there has been a misperception that the
state had assumed full responsibility for funding our public schools.
While the state did eliminate the general education levy and take
responsibility for a greater portion of school funding in 2001, local
property tax dollars continued to play an integral role in funding our
schools. That is especially true for metropolitan school districts,
which continue to rely on local property tax dollars for more than 20
percent of their total revenue.
Furthermore, the 2001 reform legislation did nothing to alter school
districts' reliance on the property tax to address deferred maintenance,
technology and building needs.
In short, even after the 2001 property tax reform legislation was passed
and signed into law, school districts have remained dependent on local
property tax dollars to meet the needs of their students.
The editorial rightly expresses concern about maintaining equitable
educational opportunities across all Minnesota school districts. The
data show that Minnesota has done an outstanding job in addressing
equity issues.
In fact, a recent Education Week analysis shows that Minnesota is one of
only 10 states in the nation where property-poor districts receive more
funding per pupil on average than do school districts with greater
property wealth.
The proposals advanced by the House and the governor, which include some
additional levy authority along with increased referendum equalization
and equity funding, will maintain this commitment.
As is almost always the case, the proposals put forward by the governor,
the Senate and the House each have attractive elements and
not-so-attractive elements.
The Senate deserves great credit for forcefully arguing that the State
must assume primary responsibility for funding our public schools and
resisting accounting shifts to accomplish that goal. It should also be
noted that the Senate proposal is not extravagant. In fact, even under
the Senate bill state general fund support for education would decline
by 1 percent in real, inflation-adjusted dollars from the 2004-05
biennium to the 2006-07 biennium.
Likewise, Gov. Tim Pawlenty should be commended for putting forth a
proposal that now exceeds the Senate bill in total revenue for
education. Still, the level of funding in this latest proposal is far
from a windfall for schools. In fact, those districts that are faced
with the significant challenge of declining enrollment will still face
budget reductions under the governor's proposal.
The pieces of the puzzle necessary to arrive at a sound compromise that
will meet the needs of our students are included in the proposals
developed by the governor, Senate and House. The time has come to get
the job done and put the puzzle together. If they can get that job done,
the real winners will be the students of Minnesota.
Lori Grivna is chair of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts
and a member of the Mounds View School Board.
_______________________________________________
This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy
All messages must be signed by the senders actual name.
No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list.
To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit
http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona
Any problems or suggestions can be directed to
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at
http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
