3 approaches to slicing MN education pie

03/27/2007

The Senate passed a bill that isn't as hefty as the funding plans being put forward by the House and Gov. Tim Pawlenty.


By Norman Draper,
Star Tribune
Last update: March 26, 2007

Property tax relief and special education are the big gainers in a $13.5 billion education bill passed Monday by the Minnesota Senate. That's barebones compared with a tax-enhanced House education bill unveiled earlier in the day that funnels money into those categories but also: basic school spending; all-day, everyday kindergarten for whoever wants it, and libraries, among other things.

Even though it seems the Senate plan is playing only two notes -- special education and property tax relief -- Senate DFLers argue that it frees up money that schools could then use to pay for all kinds of other things, such as class-size reduction, teacher salaries and supplies.

"With this proposal we pay our bills to allow more stable funding across the school districts and reduce property taxes across the state," said Sen. LeRoy Stumpf, DFL-Plummer, and chairman of the Senate Early Education-12 Education Budget Division. "[But] it's not as much as I would like to have had."

House DFLers, however, favor an approach that spreads the money around.

"This slices the pie in a way that we think gives a very balanced diet to the students of Minnesota," said Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, head of the House K-12 Finance Division.

The Senate education bill provides $498 million in new money for schools and property tax relief over two years.

That's far lower than the House bill and the governor's proposal.

The House bill would boost school spending by $919 million. Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposal would increase education funding by $760 million.

A broader approach

The House proposal must still pass through several committees before coming up for a full House vote. That plan would raise basic education funding 3 percent each of the next two years, put an extra $95 million into all-day everyday kindergarten, and put another $106 million into paying off school districts' special education costs. Like the Senate bill, it also sets aside money to lower property taxes, which have been used increasingly to fund school operations.

The House proposal includes revenues from higher income taxes proposed for Minnesota's most affluent taxpayers. Neither the governor's education proposal nor the Senate's calls for raising taxes, according to proponents of those plans. Also, the House proposal depends on revenues to be generated by stricter tax compliance and closing corporate tax loopholes. Pawlenty has indicated that he will veto any spending bill that has a tax increase in it.

A Clydesdale or a pony?

The fact that the DFL-dominated Senate's proposal is the lowest of the three funding proposals prompted some gibes from both Republicans and House DFLers.

"I thought we were going to have a Clydesdale education budget," said Dick Day, R-Owatonna. "You're bringing out a pony. ... We had these extra dollars and we were expecting you to put a chunk of money into education, but, so far everything's been under the governor's recommendation."I think they're very brave to come up with a plan lower than the governor's," Greiling said. "We're hoping to get the Senate to change their approach."

Senate DFLers said they were only living within their means.

"This is what we are able to fund with the resources we have, without a tax increase," said Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis.

The House plan also includes $152 million more for technology upgrades, and what Greiling said was a long overdue boost for libraries, "which haven't had increases in two decades."

Unlike the Senate bill, which limits the number of charter schools in the state to 150, the House plan does not restrict the creation of new charter schools. Neither plan contains proposals for lengthening the school year or allowing the school year to begin before Labor Day.

Once both the House and Senate education bills pass their respective chambers, a conference committee made up of both representatives and senators will meet to hammer out a compromise bill.