SEE’s top long-term priority is to develop and have enacted a standards-based education funding formula that will meet the needs of all Minnesota students.

• The funding study commissioned by P.S. Minnesota shows that Minnesota school districts are under-funded by $1 billion annually. These P.S. Minnesota framework should be used to design an education funding system linked to learning that provides all students regardless of where they live the opportunity to achieve the high standards and expectations necessary for students to successfully pursue their educational and economic futures.

• The current funding system is both under-funded and badly broken. For the 2007-2008 school year, the average SEE district is more than $650 per pupil unit in general education revenue below the state average. Fifty-seven(57) of 61 SEE members rank below the per pupil average in general education revenue.

  The general education formula must be increased to a level that truly provides school districts with the resources necessary to give students the programs they need to meet mandated federal and state requirements along with locally-approved additions to those requirements. Currently, the general education basic formula amount does not reflect the cost of educating the “average” student in Minnesota. Failure to provide realistic base level funding has put undue pressure on categorical programs and increased reliance on voter-approved referenda. This is unacceptable.

  Categorical programs must be available in sufficient amounts to address the needs of students in special circumstances that impede their ability to reach these levels of achievement. There are a number of educational barriers faced by students that require funding beyond the basic amount. Categorical funding, however, should not supplant adequate levels of basic formula dollars needed to educate all students.

• Funding reform must define the proper role of the operating referendum in the funding system. The inability of the state to keep pace with inflation over the past fifteen years has forced over 90% of Minnesota’s school districts to seek needed funding through voter-approved levies. This is evidence that the system is not adequately funded at the state level.

  The referendum has become the “blunt instrument” of education funding in Minnesota. It has become a tool that cannot be accessed equitably and does not provide every district with the resources needed to provide basic programs. The inability of a growing number of districts to successfully pass levies has created an uneven playing field on which districts that have similar student characteristics have widely disparate levels of revenue available to them. The inability to pass referenda has resulted in fewer course offerings, higher class-sizes, and reduced support for students with identified learning needs.

  There should be access to a revenue stream for districts to provide services beyond what is considered necessary for a high-quality education, but this authority should be limited and equalized.

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