A December 2012 action alert to influence the outcome of the 2013 legislative session may seem premature, however, Governor Dayton is putting together his budget and he’s receiving lots of pressure to spend money on non-K-12 activities.

Your Voice
K-12 leaders have a chance to influence the Governor’s decision making process, but we need to act fast. Each day the Governor meets with various commissioners and state agency personnel and they discuss options and look at who is contacting his office in support of various initiatives.

Recommendations
The Education Finance Reform recommendations provide a solid foundation to build the next generation of investment in public education. Expanding all day K options to low income students, reestablishing a general education levy for stability, much needed special education cross-subsidy reduction, repealing the pension subtraction and basic formula simplification are just a few of the provisions contained in the report. View the chart showing the impact on districts.

MREA already has sent a letter to the Governor supporting including these recommendations in his budget.

Contact the Governor
Please take a minute to contact the Governor. There is a short form (name/address) to fill out. Below is a subject heading and short message that you can use.

SAMPLE MESSAGE

Subject:  Support Education Finance Reform

Governor Dayton,

Please include these recommendations in your 2014-15 budget as a foundation for the future investment in public education. Dr. Melcher and school leaders did an excellent job balancing student and school funding issues. More work is needed, but the report is a great starting point for an investment that will close the achievement gap and expand college and career readiness opportunities for kids.

Thank you for your consideration and support!