Monday, February 9, 11 am - Noon, St. Paul
Discussion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Town Hall Forum with Congresswoman Betty McCollum
Monday, March 16, St. Paul
Parents United's Annual Parent Leadership Summit
Save the date - more details soon!
A complete listing of Events is always available at our website.
In this issue
What is Happening at the Capitol?
Both school funding and policy have been at the forefront of discussions this week.
As far as funding is concerned, we saw the Governor's budget unveiled this week, and the K-12 Education Finance Division spent two days holding hearings on its implications. The next step in the process is for bills to be introduced that are reflective of the Governor's priorities. As these bills are heard in committee, those intentions will become clearer.
On first blush, it appears that the Governor is increasing expenditures to K-12, but two important mechanisms are in play: 1) property tax and aid payment shifts, and 2) direct expenditures to qualifying districts and defined programs.
Payment shifts have been used in the past and are problematic because first, they put off until tomorrow what needs to be paid today and then, when the tax shift is finally paid back to schools, the public is told that these are new dollars flowing to our schools. And the practice of directing funds to certain qualifying districts has the potential to increase the funding disparities between school districts that we are dealing with in Minnesota.
In direct expenditures, the Governor has proposed:
- An expansion of the QComp (pay for performance for teachers) program; districts that opt in will see an increase of $300 per pupil.
- Districts where students are showing growth, using exclusively MCA II data, will also see an increase of dollars.
- Funding for "Summers of Success" programs for 8th graders who are not passing MCA II.
- Funding from the K12 budget to make changes in higher education teacher preparation programs, as well as to establish a "U Teach" pilot program at Minnesota state colleges and universities, and provide for a mid-level alternative path to teaching.
Additional proposals from Governor Pawlenty:
- Converting the Perpich Center for Arts Education to charter school status.
- Capping integration revenue at 2009 amounts.
- Reducing dollars for extended time in school.
- Reducing the budget of the Minnesota Department of Education
All of these ideas will require intense conversation over the next few months and could have far-reaching effects.
Caution - editorial comment ahead: A word needs to be said about the Governor's budget as a whole. Although it is true that the Governor does not appear to be reducing funding for K-12, the heavy reductions in other services in our state will have a direct effect on our children's ability to learn and succeed in our schools.
In this issue
In policy, there was a lot of talking about "College and Career Readiness," what Minnesota is doing, and what still needs to be done. A crisis is looming. The statutory requirement that by 2014, all students need to pass the GRAD test (imbedded in the MCA II's) in order to qualify for a diploma in the state of Minnesota, is receiving a great deal of attention. A large percentage of our students are not passing this test. How is that possible when Minnesota's 4th graders blew the rest of the world away with their math results? How is it possible when Minnesota consistently ranks first in the nation with our ACT scores? Will Minnesota deny diplomas to a large percentage of our students? And does a GRAD test assure college and career readiness? Should it?
It would be so easy to simplify this issue and mire it in rhetoric, yet the conversations that are taking place in committee hearings surrounding this issue have been SO impressive. The House committee agendas have been full of practitioners, psychometricians and world class researchers from the University of Minnesota (U of M is ranked third in the nation in education research). Conversations have been deep and meaningful as legislators grapple with this issue that has far reaching implications. Take the time if you can to watch these conversations unfold (January 28; January 29). This issue requires resolution sooner rather than later.
On Wednesday afternoon a unique gathering took place - a bicameral Early Childhood Summit. Speakers challenged Minnesota to step to the front of the line when it comes to early childhood, chiding our lagging efforts and calling for bold leadership and commitment. On Thursday, Senate File 72 was heard in the Senate Education committee. The continuation of this work on early childhood is critical. If you are not already aware of the work of Ready4K, you will find it a great resource for our state.
In this issue
