This is a report to the members of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) from Charlie Kyte, Executive Director.
Above are links to a 8 1/2 minute video and an audio podcast of this report.
FEDERAL STIMULUS:
Stay positive. The rules and process are still unclear, but in the end schools will receive significant money from the federal stimulus effort. One major area to sort out is the interplay between the federal stimulus money and the states budget shortfall.
We will see the biennial budget forecast on March 3. The question is how much of the federal money will replace cuts in the state budget for schools. To this end, we have top representatives of the MDE and from the Governors office coming to the second morning of the MASA/MASE Spring Conference on March 20th for a frank discussion of what may happen. Be sure to sign up to attend this important conference.
GOVERNORS BUDGET:
We now have the Governors Education Bill which shows each of the things the Governor proposed in his State of the State speech last month. We are analyzing the Bill now and will testify on it this Thursday.
The Bill does call for an expansion of Alternative (Q) Compensation to every school district and some new money that is tied to the percentage of students showing academic growth in each school district (1% for normal expected growth and 2% for exceptional growth). The budget also calls for significant tax/ aid recognition shifting.
It would be easy to say that this is a stingy budget. But given the times and the cuts proposed to higher education (about 8.2%), the K-12 proposal looks pretty good by comparison. It also means that money will be very tight over the next biennium unless new state revenues can be added to the mix.
CHARLIE WILL MAKE A PREDICTION ABOUT THE LEVEL OF SCHOOL FUNDING ON MARCH 16:
What assumptions should school districts make in their budgets for next year? Although much will not yet be known, I will make my best prediction on March 16th. I will base the prediction on our understanding of the dynamics at the Capitol and the impact of the federal stimulus effort. We know that school district leaders are going to need to move ahead with budget planning and possible staff cutbacks soon. Our prediction will hopefully help you to decide how to proceed.
REPORT FROM VALERIE DOSLAND:
Valerie lobbies for MASA and several other education groups. She is known as an excellent lobbyist and MASA is glad to have her services. In the attached video Valerie comments on the status of several initiatives and Bills including:
The Mandate repeal effort
Type III Busing regulations
Pre-Labor day Start Bills
The referendum reversal petitions Bill
OTHER POLICY LEGISLATION:
Charter School reform Bills are being heard in the House this week. While these Bills do tighten up the Charter School laws, they don't address the need for a moratorium on the creation of a Charter School where a school closing is proposed. Nor do the Bills go far enough to eliminate conflicts of interest between sponsors and schools especially where religious institutions are involved.
The 11th Grade Math GRAD Rule issue is moving slowly. There is generally agreement that the test should not be a sole determinate of graduation. However there is an interest by the MDE to come to an agreement on the next generation of testing as part of the Math GRAD Rule change. We continue to push to have this Bill move forward.
ONCE AGAIN..... SIGN UP FOR THE SPRING CONFERENCE:
Well over 100 of you are already registered. Not only does the conference provide excellent professional development, but the networking of colleagues is very important in tough times. In addition you will receive an excellent analysis of how the federal stimulus and the state budget may fit together.
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