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To: Minnesota House of Representatives Eduaction Finance Committee

Subject: HF 1563 (Vandeveer)

Chairwoman Sykora, and committee members, my name is Cindi Bedsted and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to why I believe the governor is short changing my children with his education plan, and why I believe House File 1563 is a better solution to our education funding crisis.

My 3 children are currently being educated in the Centennial School District, a choice that was made carefully when my family relocated back to Minnesota from Milwaukee in 1998.  Since that time, I have witnessed troubling cuts to our staffing and programs that is causing degradation in the quality of the education that my kids are receiving.

In 1998, my eldest was in 5th grade at Rice Lake Elementary, about 1.8 miles from our home.  He enjoyed a bus ride to and from school, a class size of about 25 kids, paraprofessional help for those who needed it, and opportunities in art, music, and enrichment in the TAG program.

In stark contrast, just 6 years later, his younger brother Caleb is expected to walk to and from that same school, that’s almost 4 miles a day, has 29 kids in his 3rd grade class with very little Para assistance, no TAG opportunities, and an art and library program that is in serious jeopardy due to impending budget cuts.

The middle school is an even bleaker picture for my daughter Meghan.  Kids now only have one year to experience Band, Art, and Tech Ed.  Starting in 7th grade, children must choose between these offerings- I beg the question of the governor- how can we educate our children for a global economy when we can’t even afford to staff our technology departments?  She now gets ½ year of science and ½ year of social studies where her brother had full years of each.

My eldest is now a junior at the high school where kids sit at teacher desks due to overcrowded classrooms, textbooks held together with duct tape are shared amongst students as there aren’t enough to go around.  Greg’s counselor has over 450 kids assigned to her and has long waiting lists for post secondary planning appointments. The district is actually modifying graduation standards for high schoolers because they can’t afford the ones in place now. I shudder to think of what that high school will be like for his brother and sister in the coming years if the state continues to turn its back on them.

Centennial is a growing district that is contemplating a difficult decision to close an elementary school in 06-07.  This is not due to enrollment decline, but because of lack of money.  This is wrong.  We parents want our neighborhood schools.  Our district has a proud tradition of teaching the basics in a fiscally responsible manner and has never had “extras” or “fluff”.  When the state shirks it’s responsibilities to fund education, districts like Centennial are hurt the most.  When the governor wants to take precious new funds and funnel them into unproven programs such as qcomp that are only available to ½ the kids in public schools; that is discrimination.   When levies are unequalized, it hurts districts that are economically disadvantaged. 

I am here today to ask all of you to consider HF 1563 as a better solution to the governor’s plan. 

We must close the funding gap THEN we can address the achievement gap, and 1563 helps get us there with $750 on the ppu.

We must focus on collaboration, not competition and 1563 allows for that by bringing back the General Ed Levy.

Public Schools are not corporations but the vehicle that best prepares our children for the future.  All children in Minnesota have the constitutional right to that opportunity regardless of where they live. 

Political ambition should never be supported on the backs of children and their opportunities for a quality education.

As a taxpayer, a voter, and a parent, I look forward to bipartisan leadership to do what’s right for Minnesota’s future generations and I hope you choose to support Representative Vandeveer’s bill.