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"Information is the currency of Democracy."
Minnesota PTA Advocacy Day Stay up-to-the-minute on Minnesota and national education news:
What is Happening at the Capitol? There can be no one left who doesn’t understand the seriousness of our country’s financial situation, as well as that of our state. We understand that the state deficit is one of the largest ever seen and we understand that our elected officials need to prioritize and make tough decisions. We agree, which is why we say—children first! The primary mandate in Minnesota’s Constitution makes our priorities clear:
Our job this year is crystal clear. We need to make the point from day one that cutting resources for our young citizens is a mistake that will have grave consequences long into that future. Write, call, email, visit your locally elected officials and don’t forget to drop a line to the state leadership. This is critical and we need to do this THROUGHOUT the session. We have heard that without intervention, schools will be cut. Simply put—WE ARE THAT INTERVENTION! It is equally clear that this cannot be done on the backs of the other programs essential to the health and well being of our children. It does little good to fund a school if children are hungry or sick and unable to attend or to learn. HF 4178, dubbed the New Minnesota Miracle for its attempt to pull school funding off the backs of local property taxes while equalizing access to quality public schools, is elegantly crafted. This bill changes the structure of the funding formula so that as dollars are available, they can be appropriated through a method fairer to all school districts. This bill was introduced in the waning weeks of the 2008 legislative session, House and Senate members toured the state to introduce it this summer and fall, and we look forward seeing it again at the beginning of this session, having gotten great input from those statewide hearings. One change at the legislature this year is the elimination of a Senate Education Policy Committee. The former structure of two committees, one for policy and one for funding, has been collapsed into one Senate Education Committee chaired by Sen. LeRoy Stumpf. The House has retained its committee structure with the K-12 Education Finance Division, chaired by Rep. Mindy Greiling, and K12 Education Policy and Oversight, chaired by Rep. Carlos Mariani. You may have seen the publicity around the Shared Service Initiatives idea unfurled at a press conference this week on Wednesday. The bill has yet to be introduced, but Governor Pawlenty, Sen. Terri Bonoff and Rep. Ryan Winkler held the press conference to present this cost saving idea. It seems simple - school districts could net the benefit of shared buying power - and the Senate Education Committee on Thursday morning held a hearing on this proposal. A variety of testifiers drove home the point that schools have been doing this for many, many years, and the details of the proposal have caused a great deal of concern. Securing the greatest savings statewide would require mandatory participation by schools. It was heartening that the proposal's chief author, Sen. Bonoff, and all early opponents were happy to work together to see how this idea may indeed serve well both schools and the state budget.
A Look Ahead If you have any interest in attending an education committee hearing this year, this would be a GREAT time to come (see Visit the Capitol, below).
What Can I Do? 1) Meet your locally elected officials. They want to know how you feel about the schools in your area. Start there. Tell your story. Take a moment and talk with them at the local coffee shop, in the grocery store or better yet, call and ask them to have a cup of coffee with you and a few concerned folks. It is a good time to connect.
2) Visit the Capitol! “Demystify the system” for yourself and others you know. It is not as big or scary as you may think. Meet me at the Capitol for an hour or a day, visit an education hearing, and stop in to your local legislator. Just email me or call 651-214-6565 to set this up. 3) Send this email on to others who are interested in the link between state policy and our local public schools. As Parents United's President, Christy Hlavacek, puts it:
New Resource: Minnesota Voices Online. Are you using technology to communicate at the local level? E-lists, websites, blogs, wikis? The Minnesota Voices Online discussion forum for people using technology to build community at the local level across Greater Minnesota may be for you! Learn more and join here.
A bit about Parents United Legislative Updates First, security: We never sell email addresses and we never pass along those addresses. Next, what you can expect: Weekly, throughout the session, we provide information on education bills being considered at the Capitol, analysis of the legislative process in understandable language, practical information about what you can do to affect that process, the dates for important education events, links to the newest reports and archived news articles from across the state, and the opportunity to network with others. Who else is reading this newsletter and visiting our website? Our newsletter is distributed to parents and other interested folks in ALL 134 legislative districts in Minnesota. Our Parents United website averages 800 hits a day and, in 2008 alone, had 60,000 visitors. You are in VERY GOOD COMPANY!
“Childhood has no rewind: Our children cannot go back to grade school and get another education when times are better and we all have more to give. When the playground is empty and the children are gone, either we will have sacrificed for them, or we won’t." Note: To send this e-mail on to others, please use the “Forward to a Friend” button at the top. Because this message has been personalized with your account information, it's best not to use your e-mail program to forward. Questions? Email Mary Cecconi | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Helping parents have a voice at the places where school policy and funding decisions are made. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||