Education/AFSCME Support

10/31/2006

A message from John Brodrick, St. Paul School Board Member and Eliot Seide, Director of AFSCME Council 5.

As a representative of the education community and a representative of public service employees across the state, we encourage you to VOTE YES on Minnesota’s Transportation Amendment on November 7th.

We support vital investments in our education system, health care and other state priorities that are critical for our state and believe that an excellent transportation system is important for Minnesota’s quality of life and good for the economy.

We’re joined in our support by more than a dozen other unions, environmental groups, senior citizen groups, transit advocates as well as Mike Hatch, Congressman Oberstar, Mayors Rybak and Coleman and the majority of DFL legislators in encouraging a YES vote on the transportation amendment because it offers a good step toward building a balanced transportation system in our state.

These are not people or groups that would turn their backs on education or health care - we can be confident in our support because the amendment won’t harm those key priorities.

The amendment will be phased in over five years to allow us to protect other state programs. And, it will draw from NEW revenue not the existing budget. Over the last five years, state revenue has grown by an average of $660 million each year. The amendment will put $60 million each year over the next five years to transportation. It’s a dime out of every dollar in new money to transportation - the remaining 90 cents is still available for education, health care and other priorities.

A YES vote on the transportation amendment will eventually provide $300 million a year for roads and transit and create the first-ever dedicated source of funding for public transit statewide.

VOTE YES for better schools and better roads and transit on November 7th.

John Brodrick
Treasurer
St. Paul School Board

Eliot Seide
Director
AFSCME Council 5