ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota House Republicans took a defiant stance against Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton Thursday with a proposal to eliminate his flagship early childhood education program, close an arts school and remove multiple automatic budget increases for school programs.
With a larger than expected $1.65 billion budget surplus, Dayton announced earlier this month that he wanted to put $175 million toward preschool programs in the state. But as House Republicans rolled out their budget proposals this week, cuts to the early education program and the Perpich Center for Arts Education have shown that lawmakers are preparing for a larger fight over budget negotiations.
“It looks like the House Republicans intend to use pre-kindergarten funding as a bargaining chip in the upcoming budget negotiations,” Dayton said. “It is appalling that the best interests of Minnesota 4-year-olds are being used as a political bargaining chip by House Republicans.”
Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius criticized nearly every aspect of the education bill Thursday, saying the $205 million bill doesn’t come close to the $709 million the governor is asking for.
She said funding gaps will increase teacher shortages, disadvantage low-income students, shutter programs and nullify investments that school districts have already made.
“Our kids deserve better,” she said. “There are numerous ways this bill falls short of what students and schools need to produce better outcomes and close achievement gaps.”
A number of educators testified that cuts in the bill would put pressure on already tight budgets.
Superintendent Terry Wilding, of the Minnesota State Academies, said the schools he oversees are already underfunded and that increased staffing costs - 91 percent of his schools’ budgets - will lead to program closures. The schools, which serve deaf and blind students, have already cut 20 staff members over the last four years, he said.
Democrats and Republicans had a small spat Thursday about whether budget proposals should be compared with prior year’s funding or forecasts of inflated costs. The issue, which arose again during Wilding’s presentation, is sure to be a dividing topic as budget negotiations continue.
Still, not all of the witnesses who testified at the meeting were opposed to the bill.
Multiple educators and advocates testified that efforts to hire more educators of color, forgive teacher loans and sort data to identify disparities between racial groups are all positive steps for Minnesota schools.
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