The budget surplus in Minnesota is not a priority for education
A lot has happened in Minnesota since the start of the pandemic. It seems like historical times are always present here, but not always pleasant for those here. We had lockdowns, protests, riots, and the George Floyd killing. In addition, we had the killing of Daunte Wright and other incidents.
Did I forget to mention the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) strike? That happened too! It started on March 8 and lasted for three weeks. During that time, no discussion or press conferences were held to discuss the strike. Moreover, there is a crisis and an urgency to invest in MPS, but elected officials from both sides of the aisle failed to say anything about it, except Keith Ellison and Ilhan Omar.
A historic budget surplus in Minnesota initially calculated at $7.7 billion was adjusted to $9.2 billion. As was mentioned by the President of the Minnesota Federation of Teachers (MFT) Greta Callahan, “There are 9 billion reasons” to fund public education.
Both parties have neglected and disregarded the crisis in public education in 2022
Since COVID arrived, a new era was ushered. Nothing was ever going to be the same, and how the coronavirus spread around the globe literally shut down the world. A lot of us have gone through trauma, and it has changed how to see, feel, and sound. But in the political arena, nothing has changed. In fact, it is “business as usual” and the discourse by politicians is to divide people to achieve their agenda.
I understand this is a strong claim, but both parties failed us in a big way. You would think that after 52 years of not having a teacher strike, it would pave the way to bring people together.
Instead, the Mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, did not comment at all during the duration of the strike. He did release a few statements the day before the tentative agreement was announced between the union and the district. Nevertheless, the silence from Governor Tim Walz (former educator) did not say anything as well. He did Tweet out on numerous occasions that he was ready to fund education across the entire state but never mentioned the strike.
In spite of all the best intentions, it would have been morally right to say something about the strike. No need to take a position, of course, but politics is the name of the game.
What made this strike complicated is that the Bureau of Mediation Services was facilitating the back and forth between the two parties. When I contacted the governor's office, they stressed the importance of staying neutral. Here was their response to the strike and legislative priorities:
“Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan recognize that students, teachers, and school staff are essential to moving Minnesota forward, and there is more work to be done to ensure their needs are met. That’s why the Walz-Flanagan Budget to Move Minnesota Forward for the 2022 legislative session includes a historic $2.5 billion investment in education to:
- Increase overall funding for schools with an additional 2% increase in the general education formula
- Invest in student mental health by expanding school-linked behavioral health grants and increasing funds to hire counselors, social workers, school psychologists, and more
- Provide free breakfast and lunch to students attending any Minnesota school that participates in the national school breakfast and lunch programs
- Recruit and retain education support professionals
- Reduce financial burdens for aspiring teachers
- Establish a Statewide Teacher Mentoring Program to support and improve experiences of educators”
Proposals by Democrats and Republicans for education funding
As you might expect, there are differences between both parties because we have a divided legislature. I never quite understood why a “divided” is a good thing when the priority is to fund all schools across the entire state.
According to the Herald Review, the House DFL proposes $1.15 billion for the fiscal year 2023 and $2.12 billion for 2024 and 2025. And for Republicans, additional funding of $30 million. The problem with that number, a majority of schools have shortages of teachers, substitute teachers, bus drivers, and other support professionals.
The DFL proposal comes close to $2.5 billion, but that number has decreased. Moreover, a Duluth News Tribune article confirmed that public safety and police recruitment was a top priority.
Here is a rude awakening. Lots of schools are downsizing because of budget cuts and the gradual closure of schools or programs across Minnesota. Guess what happens to communities when you do that? People from all walks of life have to scramble to make ends meet and if they live in poverty the opportunities are limited, so a rise in crime is not a new phenomenon if you don’t invest money to maintain a standard of living for hardworking families.
How Minnesota achieved a historic surplus and other important education graphs
Without going through an economics discourse and journey on tax revenues, Minnesota has been doing something well recently. It has raised more taxes and had low employment since the great recession of 2008.
The above graphic shows the spending per pupil. As reported by Educationdata.org, the United States falls short of benchmarks (UNESCO sets the standards).
When you look at the graphic above, another story can be visualized. Spending is not a priority at the K-12 level, yet the story is different for post-secondary education.
Does the question become is how much longer do all educators have to suffer? Can this new era teach politicians that It's not right, not moral, and downright a scandal to sit around and not solve problems? Because independently of your political point of view, both parties have failed to serve schools, communities, parents, and their constituents. You cannot call yourself a democratic country when you have witnessed the current crisis, and cannot even adequately fund public education. It is not politicians saving the day, but rather world-renowned educator professionals making a difference under excruciating circumstances.
