This is a message to the members of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) from Charlie Kyte, Executive Director.
The audio podcast above is about 11 minutes long and the video is 8 minutes long. Allow the video about 45 seconds to load.
BUDGET STANDOFF LOOMING:
The legislature passed a $1B cut Bill that was promptly vetoed by the Governor. The Governor proposed a budget solution that relied on income tax increases for higher income persons that was promptly disregarded by the legislative majority. This was a fast start to the session.
We now await the actual revenue forecast that will come out about March 1st which will predict the expected revenues for the next biennium. We will see the legislatures budget proposal late in March.
Expect a forecast at around $33B. The stand off is that the republican majority in the legislature would like to see spending not exceed $32B. The Governor would like to see $36-37B to cover the cost of operating the government and funding local units of government such as schools.
The result of the ongoing disagreement between new taxes and cutting services means that we will likely see no agreement until the very last days of the legislative session (May20-23). Actually pessimists at the Capitol don’t see a resolution then. This leaves the prospect of a special session in late June just before government services shut down on July 1 for lack of funding.
GOVERNOR DAYTON’S K-12 PROPOSAL IS PROBABLE ‘HIGH WATER’ POINT:
The Governor proposed to leave basic school aid and categorical aids mostly alone. He did recommend continuing the 70-30% state school aid shift. Further he recommended some small increases in funding to allow more students to be in all-day Kindergarten and some increases in funding for pre-school education. We applaud him for this effort.
In reality this is about the best outcome that we could have hoped for in the present budget circumstances. Expect the funding for schools to go down from here as the budgeting process progresses. MASA will work to limit cuts to K-12 education as much as possible.
NEW TAXES—BLINKERS AND NON-COOPERATION:
Who knows if any new taxes will ultimately be adopted. If they are, it is likely that they will have a ’blinker’ function by which they will only remain until the state regains its fiscal health. We will lobby for any ‘blinker’ tax to remain in place until the school aid shift is paid back to the schools.
CURRENT BILLS:
There are a number of Bills that MASA can support and others that we definitely oppose. One difference this year is that many of the Bills are coming from the business sector or from legislators themselves. In the past many of the education Bills originated from the various education lobbying groups.
We are seeing Bills that are being created by groups that have little experience in working in schools. Their approaches are often flawed. However, some of these same changes were never offered by the education lobby in the past even when changes needed to be made. Thus it is hard to be too upset about these initiatives.
Bills removing the sales tax exemption, disallowing FLY Districts to begin school before labor day and limiting referendum votes to once every 2 years on the general election day are definitely opposed by MASA.
Bills to tighten up tenure, encourage innovation and to reasonably modify PELRA will have our support.
WISCONSIN STANDOFF:
The standoff between the Governor and legislature, and the public unions in Wisconsin has developed to a dangerous stage. This is not about money, but rather about what are perceived as basic rights.
We don’t see a parallel situation developing in Minnesota. However, it is possible that we may see large scale union backed demonstrations at the Capitol this spring. It is important for school leaders to think this type of a situation through ahead of time. If employees leave work and you are forced to close schools as a result you will need to decide what actions to take and how you will handle groups of angry parents and citizens.
To be forewarned is to be forearmed!
NATIONAL BUDGET….. KLINE AMENDMENT PROTECTS SPECIAL ED FUNDING:
A national government shutdown is looming and a key vote on the federal budget and debt ceiling is scheduled for March 4. In the meantime a number of budget cuts were proposed including in education. Thanks to Rep. Kline, who sponsored an amendment, a cut to IDEA funding was averted.
MASA-MASE SPRING CONFERENCE…”ONE TO ONE” MEETINGS AVAILABLE:
The MASA-MASE Spring Conference is on Thursday and Friday, March 17 & 18. This year we are also offering several early bird sessions the evening before. I have set aside time at the Conference for any member wanting a consultation to have a confidential meeting with me. Just call the MASA Office and they will set up an appointment.
Also rely on the Professional Asssitance Team (PAT) of experienced school leaders to advise you as you navigate through your budget processes this year.
Comments