April 30, 2009
Conference Committee Update
The E-12 Education Conference Committee held its first meeting last evening. House and Senate staff provided a summary of the appropriations and property tax spreadsheets of the respective bills and also explained the differences and similarities between the House and Senate bill language. The committee did not review the Article II or the Article VI provisions – the education excellence and early childhood articles – last night. The conference committee will meet again this afternoon/evening following the Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy meeting. The LCPFP meeting starts at 3:00 this afternoon and will probably last an hour or two. The conference committee will again meet in Room 200 of the State Office Building and it appears that all of the E-12 conference committee meetings will be held in Room 200. Staff will provide a summary and comparison of the Article II and Article VI provisions and then the committee may begin adopting policy provisions that are the same or very similar in the House and Senate bills.
Budget Survey Released
We released the results of an AMSD budget survey yesterday. Thirty three metropolitan school districts provided budget projections based on the House and Senate education funding proposals. You can view the survey results and the press release here. Please share this information with your local legislators and conference committee members so they know how important it is that they do everything they can to protect education funding. You can access contact information for the Governor, Legislative Leaders, and Members of the E-12 Education Conference Committee here.
Poll Shows Minnesotans Want to Protect Education Funding
The Star Tribune’s Minnesota Poll shows that Minnesotans are overwhelmingly opposed to cutting funding for education. Only 22% of poll respondents thought it was acceptable for the Governor and Legislature to reduce funding for education. View the story here.
April 29, 2009
AMSD Budget Survey Released
I am attaching a copy of the press release and budget survey that was released today. AMSD Chair Pat Gleason, Superintendent Dennis Carlson, Superintendent Ric Dressen and Superintendent Patty Heminover discussed the survey results with reporters from the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press and MPR this morning. Please feel free to share the results with your local media and also with your local legislators.
Conference Committee Scheduled to Meet Tonight
The E-12 Education Conference Committee is scheduled to meet at 6:00 this evening in room 200 of the State Office Building.
April 28, 2009
Conference Committee Meeting Cancelled
The conference committee meeting that was scheduled for today at 4:00 has been cancelled. The committee will likely meet tomorrow but a meeting has not yet been officially scheduled. I am attaching an updated copy of the contact information for the conference committee members, legislative leadership and the governor and commissioner. Some of the links were not working in the document I sent out yesterday.
April 27, 2009
Conference Committee Members Named
Attached are the conference committee members for the Omnibus E-12 Education Conference Committee. I have also included contact information for the Governor, Commissioner and Legislative Leadership.
The first meeting of the conference committee is scheduled for tomorrow:
TUESDAY, April 28, 2009
4:00 PM
K-12 Education Finance Division
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chairs: Rep. Mindy Greiling, Sen. Leroy Stumpf
Agenda: HF2/SF1328 (Greiling/Stumpf) Omnibus E-12 Education billApril 24, 2009
House K-12 Finance Bill Passes
The Omnibus House Early Childhood Finance and K-12 Finance Bills were approved by the full House yesterday paving the way for conference committee deliberations to begin next week. The word is that the conference committee will have its first meeting on Tuesday. Conference committee members could be announced later today. While there were not any significant fiscal changes made to the bills yesterday, there were a couple of disappointing votes on policy issues in the K-12 bill:
- AMSD worked with several other education organizations to support an amendment that would have allowed school boards to determine their school calendar with the exception that school could not be in session on the Thursday and Friday immediately prior to Labor Day. This was a very reasonable compromise and we urged House Members to support the amendment offered by Rep. Kim Norton. Unfortunately, several AMSD legislators voted against our position and against allowing locally elected school boards the ability to adopt a calendar that best meets the needs of their students and their community. The vote tally is attached.
- Rep. Tara Mack offered an amendment to require school districts to allow resident charter school students to participate in district extra curricular activities. AMSD opposed this amendment. Once again, we were disappointed that several AMSD legislators voted against our position and for this new, unfunded mandate. The vote tally is attached.
If your local legislator(s) voted against the AMSD position I encourage you to contact them to let them know that you are disappointed in their vote.
Tentative Contract Agreement for State Employees
As you may have read in the newspaper, the State of Minnesota has reached a tentative agreement with AFSCME and MAPE. I am attaching a summary of the terms of the agreement for your information.
Type III Vans
Yesterday, the Governor signed the bill to clarify the Type III van legislation. The legislation stipulates that school districts must meet the requirements only for those hired solely to drive a Type III van.
Legislative Activity
House - the House will be taking up the Omnibus Public Safety Finance Bill and the Omnibus Economic Development Finance Bill today and the Omnibus Transportation and Tax Bills tomorrow. The House will take up the Omnibus Health and Human Services Bill on Monday.
Senate – the Senate is debating the Omnibus Tax Bill today and will meet in session tomorrow and take up bills on the general orders calendar. The Senate will take up the Omnibus Health and Human Services Bill on Monday.
The next significant deadline is May 7 – the date conference committees are required to complete work on the omnibus funding bills.
Senator Amy Klobuchar Forums Continue
Senator Amy Klobuchar’s K-12 Education Forums continue today at 3:00 in St. Paul and tomorrow morning at 9:30 in Anoka and 11:30 in Brooklyn Center. You can access the schedule and meeting locations here.
Committee Hearings Next Week
In addition to conference committee meetings, here are a few additional hearings of interest scheduled for next week:
Monday, April 27, 2009 - 9:00 AM
Committee on Education
Chair: Sen. LeRoy A. Stumpf
9 a.m. Room 112 Capitol
Agenda: Recommendations from the Arts Education Subcommittee. S.F. 1797-Torres Ray: Early childhood services inventory development. S.F. 2089-Stumpf: School districts operating cost differential study.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 - 9:30 AM
E-12 Education Budget and Policy Division
Chair: Sen. LeRoy A. Stumpf
9:30 a.m. Room 112 Capitol
Agenda: S.F. 191-Betzold: Omnibus retirement provisions modifications.
WEDNESDAY, April 29, 2009
Finance Committee
8:00 A.M. Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Lyndon Carlson
Agenda: HF1849 (Nelson) Local government unit mandates removed, extended and modified. HF1097 (Hansen) Aircraft cockpits secured against lasers. HF45 (Bigham) Penalty provided for careless driving resulting in death, and providing for revocation of violator's driver's license. HF809 (Hornstein) Charitable organizations provided a metropolitan transit pass discount. HF1088 (Swails) Commercial driver's license record-keeping requirements conformed to federal regulations. HF1665 (Swails) Education; Best practices center for shared services established. HF1127 (Eastlund) National Guard and reserve member pay differential clarified for teachers. HF644 (Champion) Home rule charter or statutory city authorized to adopt a program requiring certain hiring practices in city contracts.
Please keep contacting your local legislators to urge them to protect education funding, minimize accounting shifts and eliminate or reduce mandates. Your calls and emails do make a difference!
April 22, 2009
Senate Tax Bill
The Senate Tax Committee is taking final action on the Omnibus Senate Tax Bill this afternoon. The bill raises about $2.2 billion in new revenue primarily by creating a new 4th tier income tax rate of 9.25 percent for married, joint filers earning $250,000 or more and raising the tax rates for all income levels back to where they were prior to the rate cuts in the late 1990’s. The new rates would blink off in 2014. Below are links to the spreadsheet and a summary of the bill:
House K-12 Bill on Floor Tomorrow
The House of Representatives will take up the Omnibus K-12 Finance Bill and the Early Childhood Finance Bill on the floor tomorrow. (Thursday) We need your help in contacting your local House Members to urge them to support 2 amendments:
Labor Day - Rep. Kim Norton will offer an amendment addressing the Labor Day start issue. The amendment offers a new approach to the issue and includes a significant compromise to the tourism industry. The amendment would require that there be no school in session on the Thursday and Friday before Labor Day but would otherwise allow local school boards to set their calendar. This amendment offers a chance for a win-win outcome to this issue as it would allow school districts much more flexibility in setting a calendar that best meets the needs of their community while still addressing the concerns of the tourism industry and the State Fair by providing for a 5 day Labor Day weekend.
January 15 Deadline – Rep. Randy Demmer will offer an amendment to waive, for the next two years, the January 15 deadline and penalty related to reaching an agreement on a teacher contract.
The House floor session is scheduled to begin at 9:30 tomorrow morning. Your calls and/or emails to your local House Members will be a big help. This is our last chance to have these 2 issues addressed this session as the Senate bill does not include either of these provisions. Here is a link to a directory and contact information for all House Members:
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/housemembers.asp
April 20, 2009
House Tax Bill Released
The House Tax Bill was released this morning. A few of the major revenue raising components include:
- Creates a new 4th tier income tax rate of 9 percent on married join filers making over $300,000.
- Increases the cigarette tax by 54 cents per pack. This would put Minnesota’s cigarette tax rate at the same level as Wisconsin’s.
- Increases total alcohol taxes by 3 to 5 cents per drink.
- Eliminates dozens of business subsidies and tax expenditures
Here is a link to the Tax Committee web site where you can access the delete everything amendment, the summary and the spreadsheet:
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/committee.asp?comm=86103
Senator Klobuchar Education Forums
Here is a link to Senator Klobuchar’s web site where you can access a schedule of her Education Forums:
http://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/nclb.cfm#forums
The next forum is today at 4:30 at Plymouth Creek Elementary School in Plymouth.
Summary of Legislative Proposals
I am attaching a copy of the handout from last Friday’s board of directors meeting showing a summary of some of the significant education proposals offered by the Governor, the House and the Senate.
PEIP Power Point
I am attaching a copy of the Power Point presentation on the Public Employee Insurance Program used by Bob Hanlon from Corporate Health Systems at the AMSD Board of Directors meetings last Friday. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
April 17, 2009
K-12 Omnibus Bill Passes Out of Finance Committee
The House Finance Committee approved the K-12 Omnibus Bill this morning with one change of note. An amendment to remove language that would have waived the prohibition of starting the school year prior to Labor Day for the next two years was approved. The vote was not even close as most metro legislators joined northern Minnesota legislators in supporting the amendment. Apparently, lobbyists for the resort industry and the State Fair have convinced legislators that allowing the school year to start before Labor Day would force resorts across the state to close and would end the State Fair as we know it.
The K-12 Omnibus Bill will be heard in the House Tax Committee this evening.
Senator Klobuchar Forum
Senator Amy Klobuchar has rescheduled her education forum for tomorrow morning at Washburn Elementary School in Bloomington. The media advisory is below:
MEDIA ADVISORY
Senator Klobuchar to Hold Education Forum in Bloomington
No Child Left Behind Law Is Up for Reauthorization by Congress
WHAT:
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar will lead a roundtable discussion with Minnesota educators and parents to hear their views on the strengths and weaknesses of the federal No Child Left Behind law, which is up for reauthorization by Congress this year. Klobuchar wants to know what education reforms at the federal level would best serve Minnesota schools and their students.
In April and May, Klobuchar and her staff are holding a series of education forums throughout the state on the No Child Left Behind law.
Signed into law in January 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act was supposed to improve student performance by increasing accountability for states, school districts and schools. Supporters say it has brought much-needed accountability to public education, especially in serving disadvantaged students. Critics say the federal law has created new under funded mandates and encouraged an excessive focus on narrow standardized testing.
Along with Klobuchar, those participating in Saturday’s roundtable include:
- Charlie Kyte, Executive Director, Minnesota Association of School Administrators
- Jackie Magnuson, President, Minnesota School Boards Association
- Jim Meffert-Nelson, President-elect, Minnesota PTA
- Jon Millerhagen, Principal, Washburn Elementary School
- Paul Mueller, Vice President, Education Minnesota
The roundtable will be held at Bloomington’s Washburn Elementary School, which was one of nine schools designated this year as a “school of excellence” by the Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association.
Minnesotans can also submit their ideas and suggestions by visiting the education reform page of Klobuchar’s Senate website at http://klobuchar.senate.gov/nclb.cfm.
WHEN:
10:00 a.m.
Saturday, April 18th
WHERE:
Washburn Elementary School
8401 Xerxes Avenue South
Bloomington
CONTACT:
Ross Corson
612-727-5226 or 612-202-2816 (cell)
Legislative Hearings Next Week
MONDAY, April 20, 2009
9:00 AM
Meeting Time Note: The committee will meet longer than the usual 90 minutes, and will recess and return later in the day to complete the agenda. Taxes
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Ann Lenczewski
Agenda: Omnibus tax bill release
MONDAY, April 20, 2009
Ways and Means Committee
3:00 PM or immediately following session
Room: TBA
Agenda: Omnibus finance bills coming out of the House Finance Committee
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 - 8:30 AM
Committee on Taxes
Chair: Sen. Thomas M. Bakk
8:30 a.m. Room 15 Capitol
Agenda: Omnibus tax bill walk through (amendments on Wednesday)
TUESDAY, April 21, 2009
9:00 AM
Meeting Time Note: The committee will meet longer than the usual 90 minutes, and will recess and return later in the day to complete the agenda. Taxes
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Ann Lenczewski
Agenda: Omnibus Tax Bill
TUESDAY, April 21, 2009
8:30 AM
Joint Committee: House K-12 Education Policy and Oversight Committee, House K-12 Education Finance Division, Senate E-12 Education Budget Division
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Carlos Mariani
Agenda: Presentation by Education Commission of the States (ECS): Overview of ECS Aligning Education and Workforce Development Update on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act High School Exit Exams and End of Course Exams Community Schools: Locating Government Services in Schools
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 - 8:30 AM
Committee on Taxes
Chair: Sen. Thomas M. Bakk
8:30 a.m. Room 15 Capitol
Agenda: S.F. 2074-Bakk: Federal tax update. Amendments and vote on the omnibus tax bill.
WEDNESDAY, April 22, 2009
Ways and Means Committee
12:00 PM or immediately following session
Room: TBA
Omnibus finance bills coming out of the House Finance Committee
April 16, 2009
House K-12 Omnibus Bill Passes Out of Committee
The House Omnibus Education Finance Bill passed out of the K-12 Finance Committee yesterday afternoon on a nearly party line vote of 15-6. Rep. Pat Garafolo was the only Republican member to vote for the bill although he made it clear that he would not vote for the bill coming out of conference committee unless it was altered significantly. It is a long standing practice in both the House and Senate that only members who vote for a bill are eligible to be appointed to the conference committee.
There were no big surprises during the committee hearing. The most significant amendment to pass was one that removed from the bill a provision that would have established an alternative teacher preparation program and a two-year resident teacher license. Education Minnesota has strongly opposed this provision. This will be an issue up for debate in the conference committee as the Senate bill does include the provision.
The bottom line with regard to funding is that the House bill holds education funding at current year levels for the next two years. This is accomplished by using $275 million from the federal fiscal stabilization fund, going to a 73/27 state aid payment schedule and requiring school districts to recognize 49% of property tax revenue early. The House does NOT cap integration funding at current year levels and does not redistribute any existing funding streams. The only changes in revenue result from the aid payment shift.
Here is a link to the House Research summary of the bill:
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/docs/HF2Summary.pdf
The bill is next scheduled to be heard at 9:00 Friday morning in the full Finance Committee and will then be heard in the Tax Committee on Friday night or Saturday morning. The bill will be up in the Ways & Means Committee early next week and on the House floor in the middle of the week. The conference committee will likely begin about April 27. Under House and Senate rules, the conference committee will be required to complete its work by May 7.
Mandatory Health Insurance Pool Bill Scheduled for Today
HF 866, the bill establishing a statewide health insurance pool for school employees, is scheduled to be heard TODAY in the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee. The hearing is at 1:00 in Room 200 of the State Office Building. Here is a link to the members of the committee:
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/committeemembers.asp?comm=86118
AMSD Board Meeting
The next AMSD Board of Directors meeting is tomorrow morning from 7 – 9 a.m. at the TIES Building. Our guest speakers are Rep. Mindy Greiling and Sen. Chuck Wiger who will provide an update on the Omnibus Education Finance bills and other legislative activity. We also invited Commissioner Seagren but she is traveling out of state. The legislators will be first on the agenda right at 7:30 a.m. as they have to get back to the Capitol for meetings. We also have Bob Hanlon from Corporate Health Systems on the agenda to provide information and research related to the proposed statewide health insurance pool for school employees. Bloomington Superintendent Les Fujitake helped facilitate an ad hoc group of AMSD staff and health care consultants last fall to gather data and better analyze the mandatory health insurance pool proposal and Bob will share some of the findings of that work.
April 14, 2009
House K-12 Bill Released
The House K-12 bill and tracking spreadsheets are now available on-line:
The bill language: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/docs/A09-0404.pdf
Bill summary: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/docs/HF2Summary.pdf
Appropriations tracking spreadsheet: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/fiscal/files/k1209app.pdf
Property tax levy tracking spreadsheet: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/fiscal/files/k1209lvy.pdf
As expected, the House bill would fund K-12 Education at current levels for the next two years by using federal stimulus funds and implementing $1.75 billion of accounting shifts. The proposal does not redistribute any existing funding streams and does not accept the Governor’s proposal to cap integration funding. I will be getting further information out soon. The House K-12 Finance Committee meets at 2:45 today to go over the bill with staff. The Committee meets at 1:45 tomorrow to consider amendments to the bill and pass the bill. The bill is tentatively scheduled to be heard in the full Finance Committee on Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. and in the Tax Committee on either Friday night or Saturday morning.
April 8, 2009
OPEB Update
Earlier in the session the House K-12 and Tax Committees held a joint hearing on the Other Post Employment Benefits legislation that was passed last session. Some legislators expressed concern that the new law created inequities among school districts because some districts are better positioned to use the authority than others. Legislation making significant changes to the OPEB law was introduced and heard yesterday in the House K-12 Finance Committee. The bill, HF 2224, does the following: 1) requires school districts that wish to bond for OPEB to do so only after a referendum election to approve the bonds; and 2) alternatively, the bill establishes a "pay-as-you-go" annual levy. However, the statewide levy authority is capped, so individual school districts could see their levy prorated.
AMSD, MSBA and others raised concerns about the bill. Some AMSD members are in the final stages of selling bonds using the authority that was granted last year. As introduced, the bill was particularly troublesome as it had a March 31 effective date. An amendment to the bill was adopted changing the effective date to Aug. 1, 2009. This provision is likely to be included in the House K-12 Omnibus Finance Bill. The bill has not yet been introduced in the Senate but if it is included in the House Omnibus K-12 Finance Bill it will be on the table for consideration in conference committee.
Here is a link to a special OPEB study recently completed by State Auditor Rebecca Otto:
http://www.auditor.state.mn.us/reports/gid/2009/opeb/OPEB_liabilities_report.pdf
The bottom line is that any school districts that are considering taking advantage of the ability to bond for OPEB liabilities should proceed expeditiously!!
House Early Childhood Bill Released
Below is a summary of the bill:- includes the requirement that school readiness programs serve children a minimum of 12 hours per week.
- creates an Office of Early Learning.
- establishes a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS).
- eliminates the requirement that a district may not certify an ECFE levy unless it has submitted an annual program data report for the prior year and has an approved biennial plan on file with the commissioner.
- changes the community education report so that programs must annually file a report but do not have to include the cost per participant and cost per contact hour for hear program.
- clarifies for ABE supplemental services that a grant to a single organization cannot exceed 20% of the total supplemental services aid, rather than $100,000.
- appropriates $1 million in one-time economic stimulus funds for after-school enrichment grants.
- appropriates $25 million in one-time economic stimulus funds for child care assistance including: 1) a 2% provider reimbursement rate increase; 2) reducing the BSF waiting list: and 3) continuing the child care service agreements and family friend and neighbor pilots.
I am also attaching a grid prepared by MN Community Education Association Lobbyist Valerie Dosland outlining the various proposals related to early childhood education.
ABE Merger with MnSCU
SF1569/HF1850 was introduced 2 weeks ago and originally proposed to transfer ABE programming out of the Department of Education and into MnSCU. The bill was heard in the Senate Committee on Business, Industry and Jobs on Friday and was amended to encourage DEED, DHS, MDE (K-12 and ABE) University of MN and MnSCU to work together in local collaboratives. It also established four collaboratives in each the following areas: urban, suburban, greater MN regional and rural. There is no funding in this bill and it was expected that federal stimulus dollars or grant dollars might fund this effort.
The companion to SF1569, HF1850, was heard this week in the House Early Education Budget and Policy Committee. The language is similar to the Senate bill. Both bills are now awaiting final passage by the House and Senate.
Legislative Hearings Next Week
The House and Senate are off until next Tuesday for the Passover/Easter break. Here is a preliminary list of some of the upcoming hearings:
TUESDAY, April 14, 2009
2:45 PM
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Mindy Greiling
Agenda: HF2 (Greiling) Omnibus K-12 Finance bill - information only (The delete everything amendment will be available on Monday, April 13)
WEDNESDAY, April 15, 2009
1:45 PM
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Mindy Greiling
Agenda: HF2 (Greiling) Omnibus K-12 Finance bill
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 - 8:30 AM
Joint House/Senate Meeting: E-12 Education Budget and Policy Division and K-12 Education Finance Division
Chair: Sen. LeRoy A. Stumpf
8:30 a.m. Room Basement, State Office Bldg.
Agenda: Overview of ECS; ECS issue in focus; Update on ARRA; Highschool exit exams; Community Schools
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
April 7, 2009
Senate Passes Omnibus E-12 Education Finance Bill
The full senate passed SF 1328, the Omnibus Education Finance Bill, earlier today. Unfortunately, the financial picture did not improve as the bill still cuts education funding by 3.2 percent per year or $273 per ADM. An amendment removed most of the mandate reduction provisions from the bill as the senate has a separate mandate reduction bill moving separately – SF 3. This is an Omnibus Mandate Reduction Bill that includes provision impacting cities, counties and school districts. Here are links to the bill and the various appropriation spreadsheets:
The state impact runs:
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/departments/fiscalpol/tracking/2009/e-12aid_SF1328.pdf
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/departments/fiscalpol/tracking/2009/e-12proptax_SF1328.pdf
The school district runs:
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/departments/fiscalpol/tracking/2009/e-12lvyrun_SF1328.pdf
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/departments/fiscalpol/tracking/2009/e-12revrun_SF1328.pdf
The bill language:
https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=S1328.2.html&session=ls86
Mandatory Health Insurance Pool Continues to Move Forward in the House
The House State and Local Government Operations Committee passed HF 866 out of committee this morning on a 10 – 7 vote without any amendments being added to the bill. The bill was re-referred to the Finance Committee. Here is how the vote tally went this morning:
Voting in Favor of the Bill: Pelowski, Poppe, Hilty, Kahn, Kalin, Marquart, Morrow, Nelson, Sterner and Winkler
Voting Against the Bill: Emmer, Paul Anderson, Buesgens, Gottwalt, Kiffmeyer, Lanning, Sanders
Absent: Hornstein, Simon
April 6, 2009
House Omnibus Early Childhood Bill Released
The House Omnibus Early Childhood Finance Bill has been released and is attached for your review. The House Early Childhood Committee will meet tomorrow, April 7, at 4:30 p.m. in room 200 of the State Office Building to go over the bill and take public testimony. If you are interested in testifying on the bill you should contact Sara Benzkofer, the committee administrator. Here is her contact information:
Sara Benzkofer
Committee Administrator
Early Childhood Policy and Finance Committee
State Office Building, Room 422
100 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Saint Paul, MN 55155-1206
651-296-4305
sara.benzkofer@house.mn
Omnibus Senate E-12 Finance Bill Advances
The Senate Tax Committee approved the Omnibus E-12 Finance Bill this morning. The bill was amended to remove the increased revenue that would have been generated by the new consolidated levy in FY 2012 and FY 2013. The bill will be taken up by the full Senate on the floor tomorrow morning. The Senate bill cuts funding for education by $273.00 per pupil (ADM) in FY 2010 and $272.00 per pupil in FY 2011. It is important that AMSD members contact their local senators to let them know how devastating these cuts would be for your schools.
Mandatory Statewide Health Insurance Pool
HF866 is this year’s version of legislation that would create a mandatory statewide health insurance pool for school employees. All school employees would be pooled in the Public Employee Insurance Plan (PEIP). The bill was amended in the House earlier in the week to exempt school districts that are self-insured, either individually or as part of a self-insured group. The bill is scheduled to be heard in the House State and Local Government Operations Committee tomorrow morning, April 7, at 8:00 in room 200 of the State Office Building. Please contact members of the committee to urge them to vote NO on HF 866. It is not fair to mandate any district, self insured or not, into this pool. Here is a link to the members of the committee:
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/committeemembers.asp?comm=86132
Thanks for your help.
April 3, 2009
Senate Omnibus E-12 Finance Bill Moves Forward
The Omnibus E-12 Education Finance bill passed out of the Senate E-12 Budget Division last night and out of the full Senate Finance Committee this morning. The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Tax Committee on Monday morning and up on the Senate floor on Tuesday. I am attaching a summary of the major components of the senate bill. The bottom line is that the Senate bill cuts funding for E-12 Education by $273 per pupil in FY 10 and an average of $272 per pupil in FY 2011. These reductions are AFTER the offsets from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund which is the largest component of the federal stimulus funding. This figure does not account for the federal stimulus funding schools will receive directly through IDEA and Title I. Please contact your local senator(s) and let them know how devastating this cut would be for your school district. We will be sending out a budget survey to all AMSD member districts to gather information about the impacts of the legislative proposals and will use that information in our advocacy efforts.
The House Early Childhood Committee will be rolling out its Omnibus Finance Bill next Tuesday, April 7 but the House K-12 Finance Committee is not scheduled to unveil its omnibus bill until April 14.
The Legislature will be taking a break for the Passover/Easter holidays next week. There will be no committee hearings or floor session from Wednesday, April 8 through Monday, April 13. This provides you an opportunity to meet with your local legislators back in your district to update them on your budget situation and to share your thoughts on the pertinent topics at the Capitol such as the shared services proposal, mandatory health insurance pool, mandate relief and, of course, the budget proposals.
You can refer to AMSD Chair Pat Gleason’s Star Tribune commentary for some talking points:
Shared Services
The Shared Services bill, SF 10, has been resurrected after having been previously defeated on the Senate floor. The bill was brought up for reconsideration yesterday and was amended before passing on a voice vote. The Senate was acting as the committee of the whole so the bill will come up for final passage on Monday. The bill would still require the MDE to hire an outside consultant to work with school districts and charter schools to make recommendations about combining services and activities to improve service delivery and efficiency. The bill further requires the consultant to work with school districts to implement the plan and identify the savings that result from the plan. School districts would then have 5% of the identified savings deducted from their general education revenue to pay for the consultant. The amendment that was adopted yesterday caps the fee for the consultant at $2.5 million per year for 2010 and 2011. The balance of the identified savings from implementing the shared services plan would have to be allocated to "classroom education".
The future prospects for this proposal are not clear as the House companion bill has not been heard and is not expected to receive a hearing. The House is moving forward with a drastically different approach:
https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=ceH1665.1.html&session=ls86
It is quite possible that the two competing versions will end up being amended into their respective House and Senate Omnibus E-12 Finance Bills and negotiated in conference committee.
OPEB
This week a bill to change OPEB was introduced. HF2224 does the following: 1) requires school districts that wish to bond for OPEB to do so only after an election to approve the bonds; and 2) all other districts may access a "pay-as-you-go" annual levy, though the overall levy authority is capped, so the total levy requests may be prorated.
There was a drafting error as the bill stipulates an effective date of “effective for obligations issued and sold prior to March 30, 2009.” The effective date was intended to be for bonds sold after March 30, 2009. However, that is still a major problem as there are a number of school districts currently in the process of selling bonds. I had a conversation with Rep. Mindy Greiling who indicated that the intention is to change the effective date to August 1, 2009. This bill is scheduled to be heard in the House K-12 Finance Committee on Tuesday. The bill has not yet been introduced in the Senate. If you have been considering taking advantage of the OPEB authority granted last session, it would be highly advisable to proceed expeditiously!!
Pensions
The Omnibus Pension bill was passed out of the Pension Commission on Tuesday night and will be heard in the House and Senate Government Operations Committees next week. The bill includes changes to TRA to address the deficiency in the fund and provide benefit enhancements. The enhancements include increasing the formula multiplier and addressing those employees hired after 1989 -- a modified form of Rule of 90 that will allow long serving TRA members to retire around age 62 with 30 years of service.
To fund this proposal, contribution rates for both employees and employers would increase 0.5% per year for four years beginning in FY 2012. As the bill was drafted, the state would cover the increase in the employer share for school districts.
Mandatory Statewide Health Insurance Pool
HF866/SF915 is this year’s version of legislation that would create a mandatory statewide health insurance pool for school employees. All school employees would be pooled in the Public Employee Insurance Plan (PEIP). The bill was amended in the House earlier in the week to exempt school districts that are self-insured, either individually or as part of a self-insured group. The bill is scheduled to be heard in the House State and Local Government Operations Committee on Tuesday. Here is a link to the members of the committee so you can contact them and express your opposition to HF 866:
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/committeemembers.asp?comm=86132
Guidelines on Federal Stimulus Funds
This week the MN Department of Education announced that the feds provided new guidance and applications for several elements of education funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Title I, IDEA, State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, Vocational Rehabilitation and Independent Living grants. Below is information they provided.
The press release is available at: http://www.ed.gov/print/news/pressreleases/2009/04/04012009.html
A chart that shows how much funding each state is expected to receive for education under ARRA is available at: http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget09/09recoveryinitialrelease.pdf
Further information and additional supporting documents are available at:
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/index.html#apps.
In response to a frequent inquiry, this newly released information does not include guidance or application on the competitive “Race to the Top” grants for states and “Innovation Fund” grants for school districts and non-profit organizations. More information is expected on those programs in late spring or early summer.
In addition, a letter from Secretary Duncan outlining Secretary Duncan’s proposed changes to the new Title I regulations released by Secretary Spellings in October, 2008 is available at: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/090401.html.
Legislative Committee Hearings Next Week
Monday, April 6, 2009 - 9:00 AM
Committee on Taxes
Chair: Sen. Thomas M. Bakk
9 a.m. Room 15 Capitol
Agenda: S.F. 1328-Stumpf: Miscellaneous early childhood education and family, kindergarten through grade 12 and adult education provisions modifications and appropriations. S.F. 1757-Carlson, J.: Eagan tax increment financing district duration extension authorization. S.F. 1866-Foley: Coon Rapids tax increment financing district (TIF) duration extension. S.F. 1881-Metzen: South St. Paul tax increment financing (TIF) district establishment. S.F. 1895-Scheid: Tax increment financing (TIF) increments transfer to municipality to offset state aid reductions authorization. S.F. 1993-Scheid: Tax increment financing (TIF) districts duration limit modification for housing and redevelopment districts.
Monday, April 6, 2009 - 3:00 p.m.
Committee on State and Local Government Operations and Oversight
Chair: Sen. Ann H. Rest
Agenda: SF 1257-Bakk: Obligations issuance and financing of public improvements terms and conditions. S.F. 191 Betzold: Omnibus Pension Bill |
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TUESDAY, April 7, 2009
8:00 AM
State and Local Government Operations Reform, Technology and Elections
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Gene Pelowski
Agenda: HF723 (Murphy, M) 2009 omnibus pension bill. HF927 (Mahoney) Construction codes and licensing modified, high pressure piping profession provisions added, appropriation restrictions modified, and authority to adopt.
HF866 (Hosch) School districts required to obtain employee health coverage through the public employees insurance program. HF1278 (Sterner) County offices appointment and consolidation provided, subject to notice, hearing, and reverse referendum. HF222 (Slawik) Multiple unit residences allowed certain persons for campaign and election purposes. HF884 (Thissen) Medical supplies and equipment purchasing alliance created. HF986 (Thissen) County maintenance of effort provisions amended for mental health provisions. HF834 (Kohls) State employee suggestion system established, money appropriated.
TUESDAY, April 7, 2009
8:30 AM
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Carlos Mariani
Agenda: HF1080 (Norton) Comprehensive scientifically based reading instruction definition clarified, prekindergarten through grade six teachers requirements made, reading instruction assessment created, and Board of Teaching rules legislative review provided. (information only)
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - 8:30 AM
Property Tax Division
Chair: Sen. Rod Skoe
8:30 a.m. Room 15 Capitol
Agenda: Property Tax Article-amendments and passage
TUESDAY, April 7, 2009
2:45 PM
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Mindy Greiling
Agenda: HF181 (Thissen) MinnesotaCare eligibility provisions modified. HF2224 (Marquart) School district authority modified to issue and sell certain general obligation bonds without voter approval, and levy authorized for certain other post employment benefits. HF2183 (Swails) South Washington County; ISDN 833 Center for the Arts grant funding provided, money appropriated.
TUESDAY, April 7, 2009
4:30 PM
Committee: Early Childhood Finance and Policy Division
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Nora Slawik
*** Note: *** Change in Agenda
Bill(s) Added
Agenda:
HF1850 (Haws) Administration of training and employment functions reorganized, responsibilities transferred to Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. (pending referral from Finance) Walk through Omnibus Early Childhood Finance and Policy delete-everything amendment to HF1026 (Slawik) Early childhood education provisions amended. Discussion only. (The delete everything amendment will be available on Monday, April 6)
As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions.
April 1, 2009
The Senate E-12 Education Budget Division rolled out its omnibus funding bill this morning and it is NOT a pretty picture. The committee was given direction to reduce E-12 funding by $972 million in the 2010-11 biennium and $1 billion in FY 12-13. The Senate plan uses $519 million in federal stimulus revenue to partially offset the cuts but the bottom line is that school districts will see a cut of $273 per pupil in FY 10 and a $272 per pupil cut in FY 11 under this proposal. The Senate plan does not use any accounting shifts. The committee was scheduled to reconvene at 3:00 to consider amendments and take action on the bill but that meeting has been cancelled and has not yet been rescheduled.
The major components of the bill include:
· Establishes a general Education ADM entitlement adjustment to subtract $484.2 million each year in ($273 per pupil) FY10 and 11. In FY 12 and 13 there is a $300 million and $161 million subtraction respectively and $80 million in FY14 and The bill does not change the formula allowance, instead the adjustment is made by reducing the general education aid earned by school districts based on the statewide average daily membership.
· Establishes a consolidated levy that raises $227.3 million in FY12, $428.7 million in FY12, and $584.9 million in FY12. The consolidated levy would look somewhat like the old general education levy and would be formed by consolidating the equity, transition, and operating capital levies.
· Rolls Q Comp out of the general education formula in FY11 and establishes it as a categorical program.
· Deletes the safe school levy maintenance of effort for counselors, nurses, social workers, and school psychologists and allows safe schools levy to be used as though it were general ed revenue for FY 10-11.
· Continues and expands pre-kindergarten allowances at $6 million in FY10 and $8 million in FY13.
· Temporary waives the 2% staff development set aside requirement and repeals the allocation requirements in statute.
· Freezes integration revenue at FY09 for all districts. (Governor’s recommendation)
· Provides alternative options for students who fail the Math grad.
· Establishes statutory authority for alternative licensing programs, like New Teacher Project and Teach for America.
Article 1, General Education
Minimum Number of Instruction
Senate: Establishes minimum number of hours for elementary 425 for kindergarten, 935, for grades one through six, and 1020 for 7-12. Gives the commissioner authority to reduce aid. (Governor’s rec).
Consolidated Levy
Senate: Establishes a consolidated levy that raises $227.3 million in FY12, $428.7 million in FY12, and $584.9 million in FY12. The consolidated levy combines the equity, transition and operating capital levies.
Alternative Compensation Revenue /Q Comp
Senate: Provides $260 per pupil. Does not expand to all districts as proposed by the Governor.
Referendum Recall
Senate: Repeals provision that allows for a recall on a school referendum.
Learning and Development
Senate: Allows a district to use Learning and Development revenue for general education purposes for FY 10-11.
Safe Schools Levy
Senate: Repeals the maintenance of effort requirement for support staff and also allows this revenue to be used for general education purposes for two years.
Article 2, Education Excellence
Home Schools
Senate: Repeals some of the home school reporting requirements.
Annual Report on Curriculum, Instruction and Student Achievement
Senate: Requires that districts need only publish a summary of the report in the local newspaper.
Virtual Education Program
Senate: Governor’s recommendation to establish several on line courses that will be available to districts for grades 6-12.
World Language Proficiency Certificates
Senate: Allows districts to issue a certificate.
Staff Development
Senate: Waives for two years the 2% staff development set aside and also eliminates the provisions on how the funding has to be allocated.
Graduation Tests/MCA’s
Senate:
Fire Drill
Senate: Reduces fire drills and lock down drills from 5 to 2 and students must be present for the drills.
Reading Requirements
Senate: Defines reading requirements for reading instruction programs.
Alternative Teacher Preparation Program
Senate: Establishes an alternative licensing program in statute. Existing programs that meet the requirement will not have to renew its application with the Board of Teaching each year.
Alternative Programs/Area Learning Centers
Senate/House: Includes various clean up provisions proposed by MDE.
Temporary School Closing
Senate/House: Permits a district to temporarily close a building or lease to another education entity for three or fewer years to without holding a school closing hearing.
Superintendent Report
Senate/House: Repeals.
Online Learning
Senate: Beefs up on line learning requirements to align to state standards and make information available to the enrolling district.
Charter Schools
Senate: Includes many provisions to strengthen oversight, training, and requirements for charters and their authorizers. Includes a provision to have a moratorium for up to 36 months when a district school has closed or been consolidated. Puts a cap on charter school lease aid.
Reading Corp
Senate: Funded at $1.5 million per year.
Summer of Success
Senate: Funds this Governor’s imitative at $1.5 million inFY10 and $3 million in FY11.
Article 3, Special Programs
Special Education
Senate: Includes agreed upon language regarding the definition of special education and the obligation of districts that was negotiated between the advocates and MSBA.
MA Billing
Senate: Increases the amount that DHS can take for department costs for MA billing from $350,000 to $370,000, the Governor asked for a bigger increase.
Reasonable Transportation for Care and Treatment
Senate/House: Includes language for notice requirements and reasonable transportation provisions for care and treatment facilities.
Article 4, Facilities and Technology
Review and Comment
Senate: Increases the threshold to trigger consult with the commissioner before commencing construction from $250,000 to $500,000. Increases the threshold for installment purchase from $500,000 to $1 million. Requires publishing on the summary of the comment.
Article 6, Early Childhood Education, Prevention, Self Sufficiency and Life Long Learning
Quality Rating System
Senate: Establishing a quality rating systems. Requires programs to have a minimum of 12 hours, and class ratio of 10 to 1.
Pre-Kindergarten Allowances-Pre K
Senate: Continues existing programs and expands to six additional sites the pre-kindergarten allowances. Appropriates $6 million in FY10 and $8 million in FY11.
Encourages districts to use ARRA funding for early childhood education.
More information will be forthcoming.