Home > News & Events > 2008 News	Print View

Natalie Spray, MN Sun Press & News
Anoka-Hennepin would fare well under new piece of legislation being hailed as the "New Minnesota Miracle."

The education finance bill would provide $1.7 billion in new revenue to school districts across the state. Of that amount, $600 million would be property tax relief.

District 46A Rep. Michael Nelson, DFL-Brooklyn Park, is one of several of the bill's authors. He said the state's education funding system has been tweaked so much over the past several decades, it's time for a re-vamp.

It's a "bold, aggressive way of putting the funding back on the state," he said.

The state has a responsibility to equitably fund education for all students, Nelson said.

"Right now, if you can pass a bond you have a good [education] system," he said. "This is a way to get a statewide system that gets the state back to what they're supposed to be doing."

The bill establishes a minimum amount of compensatory revenue at $2,500 per student, which would meet the district's need, Assistant Superintendent Dennis Carlson said.

The bill would fully fund special education and all day kindergarten. It also reinstates hazardous transportation.

Supporters have dubbed the initiative the "New Minnesota Miracle," after the 1970s reform that shifted much of school funding from property taxes to state funding.

The bill addresses all of Anoka-Hennepin's legislative platform issues from the past several years, Carlson said.

The framework means the district wouldn't be guessing how much state aid it will receive year after year, Superintendent Roger Giroux said.

According to the proposed bill, Anoka-Hennepin's state aid would increase by $126 million a year - or $3,200 per pupil.

That is higher than the average statewide increase of $2,800 per student.

"This formula serves us very, very well," Carlson said. "Anoka-Hennepin is pleased, but many districts, both urban and rural, are not pleased."

The House bill has been referred to the K-12 Finance and Education, Finance and Economic Competitiveness Finance committees.

The Legislature is currently working to create a consensus on school funding. The bill will likely be re-introduced next year, and then the Legislature will have to find a way to fund the program, Nelson said.

"The price tag is mammoth," Carlson said.

Because of the cost, the program would likely be phased in over several years, he said.

http://www.pressnews.com/articles/2008/04/25/other_news/4ahproposedfunding.txt