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Thank you for inviting parents to testify on behalf of this bill.

My name is Marita Bujold. I am a parent of two daughters ages 12 and 15. They attend public schools in St. Paul. I have volunteered in their schools since my eldest daughter was in kindergarten. I was active on their elementary school's parent group. As the public relations chair person for that group, I was very active in educating parents about the levy, which St. Paul voters passed in 2002.

Unfortunately, the dollars from that levy did not result in additional resources for our school. In fact, as the site council and the principal prepared the budget for the 2003-2004 school year, they were forced to cut both programs and personnel. The following year the same thing happened. In those two calendar years, the school had to make choices between cutting full-time classroom teachers and cutting vital support staff. Last year alone, the school lost $168,000.

The site Council had worked very hard to prepare a vision for the school. It had taken into account the evaluations of the school's student needs. They had done precisely what they were supposed to be doing.  However, the lack of resources not only made it impossible to achieve their goals, it meant that necessary services were being cut.

Schools cannot serve students well under these circumstances. I believe that we need to empower our public schools with the resources which they need to build programs which will better serve our students.  No one can claim that this is adequate funding.  I am eager to see the work of the task force completed. This is a wonderful opportunity. The work of the Task Force will provide a valuable tool. It will help legislators, leaders in our schools' districts and communities to plan better for our schools' needs. Once we have defined what is required to adequately fund public education, we know what we are aiming for.

Currently, we have no new investment in public education. No new investment. We are looking again at another year of cutting services and staff. In addition, schools are facing the same dilemma of annual double-digit rise in the cost of healthcare insurance premiums and increased fuel costs. These costs have significantly affected school budgets. But they are not a failure on the part of the schools, nor can the schools fix these problems.

Public schools are held accountable for educating all children. Minnesota has a mandated commitment to public education. The state has established standards, but we need to fund the programs which will allow students to achieve the standards. I believe that the recommendations provided by the completed task force report will serve as a valuable tool to provide long-term investment in public education.