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Minnesota School Districts Working for Equitable, Adequate and Sustainable Education Funding.
Comprehesive Funding Reform
2011 Commissioner's Education Finance Working Group |
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Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius has named members to serve on an Education Finance Working Group charged with developing recommendations for school finance reform. In addition to school and civic leaders, citizens and parents, the working group also includes sitting legislative leadership.
Established as part of Governor Dayton’s Seven Point Plan to establish better school funding, the goals of the reform proposals crafted by the working group are to:
- Improve the adequacy, equity, and stability of pre K-12 education funding
- Simplify education funding
- Preserve local control
- Close the achievement gap
- Promote high achievement for all students
- Direct resources closest to students, teachers and the classroom
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Tying Education Funding to Student Success
Parents United Summit
February, 2007
A Framework for a New Minnesota Education Funding Formula
PS Minnesota
November 2006 (pdf, 5 pages)
APA Executive Summary
Estimating the Cost of an Adequate Education in Minnesota
Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, Inc.
November 28, 2006 (pdf, 4 pages)
APA Phase 2 Adequacy Report
Estimating the Cost of an Adequate Education in Minnesota
Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, Inc.
November 2006 (pdf, 43 pages)
Investing in the Future
Seeking a Fair, Understandable and Accountable 21st Century Education Finance System for Minnesota
Governor's School Funding Task Force
July 2004 (pdf, 67 pages) |
The current education funding system in Minnesota is broken. Inadequate state funding resulting in the heavy reliance on voter-approved operating referendum has created an educational system of "haves" and "have - nots" based on a child's zip code. The state must develop and implement a standards-based funding formula that is rationally-linked to student achievement and need.
Comprehensive funding reform must provide the resources Minnesota schools need to ensure that ALL children can meet federal and state academic standards and reach their maximum potential.
PS Minnesota, an unprecedented coalition of education organizations and parent groups, had worked with nationally-recognized education funding experts, Augenblick, Palaich, and Associates (APA), to develop the framework for a new school funding formula.
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The New Minnesota Miracle |
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The Minnesota Miracle Bill is legislation that was introduced in the House in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The bill would provide comprehensive funding reform based on the PS Minnesota framework. Although the bill is not perfect, it does make a significant first step towards providing the resources Minnesota schools need.
Unfortunately, the timing of the New Minnesota Miracle coincided with the recession. The investment called for in the Miracle, and needed for our schools, is significant. The Minnesota Miracle has stalled due to lack of revenue. SEE remains committed to the process of comprehensively reforming Minnesota's education funding system to ensure both adequacy and equity for all.
Note: Both HF4178(2009) and HF2(2010) refer to the Minnesota Miracle Bill.
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