April 2004 Parent Leadership Summit

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April 2004Parent Leadership Summit

• Education Funding in Minnesota
• How Did We get Here?

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Minnesota State Constitution

• Section 1.UNIFORM SYSTEM OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The
  stability of a republican form of government
  depending mainly upon the intelligence of the
  people, it is the duty of the legislature to
  establish a general and uniform system of public
  schools. The legislature shall make such
  provisions by taxation or otherwise as will
  secure a thorough and efficient system of public
  schools throughout the state.

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How Public Schools are Funded

• The legislature taxes, funds and regulates
• School boards dispense funds

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The Legislative Process

• The Minnesota State Legislature works on a
  biennium basis.
• One year for policy and the next for funding.
• In its funding session, the Legislature sets the
  per pupil formula for the next two years.

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Major Sources of Revenue for a School Districts
Operating Fund

• 86 State
• 7.3 Local Levies
• 3.6 other sources
• grants
• fund raising
• fees
• 3.1 Federal

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The Funding Process

• Per pupil formula
• x AMCPU (adjusted marginal cost pupil units)
• District Operating fund (General Fund)

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Basic Skills revenue

• ELL (700/pu capped _at_ 5 years)
• Compensatory (capped _at_ 2512/pu)
• Transportation sparsity funding
• Special Education funds
• State 9,800 average/pu
• Federal 1,100 average/pu

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Average General Fund Dollars in Minnesotas
public schools

• According to the states 2003
• Education Finance Task Force report Minnesota
  school districts receive 7,615 per pupil

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How Did We Get Here?

• 1. A per pupil formula that has averaged 1.14
  increase annually
• 2. State policies reforming property tax
• 3. The 2001 General Education Buy Down
• 4. No New Tax Pledge

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Per Pupil Formula Analysis
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Flat per pupil formula

• The true per pupil formula grew an average of
  1.14 annually
• Expenses in districts grew an average of 5
  annually

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How Did We Get Here?

• 1. A per pupil formula that has averaged 1.14
  increase annually
• 2. State policies reforming property tax
• 3. The 2001 General Education Buy Down
• 4. No New Tax Pledge

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State policies to reform property taxes

• Class rates for taxing businesses were reduced to
  more closely resemble residential property tax
  rates
• Agricultural and recreational land removed from
  the equation for school taxes
• General Education Fund Buy Down

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Annual School Taxes 1997-2002 on a 250,000 Home
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How Did We Get Here?

• 1. A per pupil formula that has averaged 1.14
  increase annually
• 2. State policies reforming property tax
• 3. The 2001 General Education Fund Buy Down
• 4. No New Tax Pledge

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General Fund Buy Down

• In 2001, the state accepted the liability of
  funding 85 of
• public schools cost
• Passed half of the legislationthe liability was
  accepted, without a revenue stream to support it.
• Destabilized the funding source for schools and
  now makes them reliant on the states economy

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Change in percent of school revenue from the state
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How Did We Get Here?

• 1. A per pupil formula that has averaged 1.14
  increase annually
• 2. State policies reforming property tax
• 3. The 2001 General Education Fund Buy Down
• 4. No New Tax Pledge

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The Decades Mantra

• EXPECT MORE
• PAY LESS

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No New Tax Pledge

• Developed by
• the Minnesota Taxpayers League whose website
  states
• Everybody knows we pay too much in taxes.
• -David Strom
• The Taxpayers League has been successful because
  we take our case to the people of Minnesota. It
  is our goal to reach out to and persuade as many
  Minnesotans as possible
• -David Strom, Legislative Director of the
  Taxpayers League.

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Price of Government

• The Price of Government is the State of
  Minnesotas official measure and is factored as
  total revenue as a percentage of personal income.

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Requirements for public schools grew while
funding did not

• Testing
• Standards
• Special education mandates
• Transportation
• English Language Learning
• Days added to the school year
• Health and safety mandates
• Physical Education
• HIV/AIDS Sex Education
• Drug/Alcohol Abuse Education
• Bus Safety
• Title 1 programs

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NCLB

• No Child Left Behind is possibly the largest
  unfunded/under-funded mandate the federal
  government has ever imposed on public schools.
• The Office of The Legislative Auditor, State of
  Minnesota has said Even if students math and
  reading scores improve significantly in coming
  yearsmore than 80 of Minnesota elementary
  schools would not make AYP by 2014...and this
  could trigger expensive sanctionsOLA Evaluation
  Report 2/26/04
• The US Department of Education contends that
  NCLB is appropriately funded. Yet in 2004-05,
  because of formulaic restructuring at the federal
  level, Minnesota will receive substantially less
  federal funding. Eugene Hickock, Undersecretary
  of USDOE 4/14/04

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What the cumulative effects of this decade have
meant to public schools

• Less administrationRD
• Greater reliance on local levies
• Fewer Art/Music programs
• Fewer Gifted/Talented programs
• Books older than the kids
• Cutting or charging for transportation
• Higher fees
• Larger class sizes
• Fewer enrichment programs
• Fewer intervention programs
• Deferring maintenance to facilities
• Greater reliance on parent fund raising
• Greater reliance on the classroom teacher
• Fewer fund balances higher cost for districts to
  borrow money

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What was happening with the economy

• Between 1995 and 2001 the state of Minnesota and
  the federal government experienced the largest
  surpluses ever recorded
• Minnesota rose to rank 8th in per capita income
  of the fifty states
• Residents received tax rebate checks in multiple
  years
• Property tax reductions were enacted over
  multiple years
• Business tax rates were reformed

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• What Do We Need to Do to Change Where We are
  Headed?

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Know your Facts

• Schools have had greater expectations placed on
  them with flat or decreased funding
• Policies that aided property tax reform have
  destabilized funding for schools
• The state took on the liability of providing 85
  of the funding for schools without identifying a
  revenue stream
• The No New Tax Pledge has created a greater
  dependence on fees and increased local taxes.

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Make the case

• Taxes are not out of control.
• The State crises wasnt inherited, it was
  selfinflicted
• State funding for K-12 was protected only for
  this year.
• State funding for K-12 education actually
  declines for the next three years, for the first
  time in the history of the state.
• 85 of school funding is regulated by the state.
  You cant use fees to support these basic
  services.
• Few local reserves are surplus. School
  districts often have to borrow throughout the
  year.
• John Gunyou, Commissioner of Finance for Gov.
  Carlson and
• Jay Kiedrowski, Commissioner of Finance for
  Gov. Perpich

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Work for What you believe in

• Organize Candidate Forums
• Work for Representatives that support your
  priorities
• Elect representatives whose judgment and
  integrity you trust
• Help elected officials understand your views
• Take your candidates and representatives on tours
  of your schools
• Keep public schools in the forefront
• start a letter to the editor campaign
• help parents be a presence at the Capitol

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Concentrate on expanding the conversation

• Local Chambers of Commerce
• Early Childhood parents
• League of Women Voters
• Seniors
• Realtors
• Local Business people
• Legislators

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The Power of the Network

• Together we can
• provide information
• provide a speaker or help you be a speaker
• provide a state view to your local and a local
  view to our state
• network local advocacy groups
• connect with state-wide advocacy organizations
• present a state-wide parent voice for our public
  schools

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• What the best parents want for their children
  the public must want for all children
• --- Dewey