House Deadlock Enters Third Week, Education Bills Face Funding Hurdles
Last Week in Summary
The standstill in the House continues into its third week after the MN Supreme Court ruled last Friday that 68 members constitute a quorum. House Democrats are holding out for at least two things: assurance that Republicans will not attempt to unseat Rep. Brad Tabke (D-Shakopee) and a return to the power sharing agreement made last fall. Meetings and negotiations between the two parties had been ongoing but, as of Thursday, Republican House leader Lisa Demuth said those meetings had ended and a resolution is yet to be seen. As the days go by, the thousands of bills piling up in the queue and the constitutional requirement to set a budget this year both hang heavy over the heads of every lawmaker. Given everything that has happened thus far, this session may go down as the most chaotic in Minnesota’s history.
In the Senate, the special election to fill the open seat in Senate District 60 concluded on Tuesday night with the DFL candidate Doron Clark taking 90.9% of the votes. This means that the DFL will regain its one-seat majority in the Senate, although the rumor mill continues to churn about whether the power sharing agreement may or may not stick around. With 34 affirmative votes needed to terminate the agreement, there is speculation that a handful of DFL members may see a benefit to keeping the agreement in place.
Senate Education Finance
The Senate Education Finance committee heard an update on the Student Attendance Pilot Program, with four school districts participating in the program there to testify. Mark Morrison, Superintendent of Chisholm Public Schools, says although they will need the full year to pull the most accurate data, they are seeing positive results. Chisholm Elementary School (grades four through six) has improved their overall attendance by 1%, and in the high school overall attendance is up 2% from a year ago. Senators questioned the reasons behind student absences, and sought to understand ways in which they can better support students and families. They agreed they need to focus on and start to identify the real reasons, in order to create interventions and actions.
Sen. Weber brought SF 133 to the committee, a bill expanding the allowable uses of student support personnel aid. This bill permits using the funds for necessary transportation among school sites for student support services personnel, training for student support services personnel or technology upgrades for student support services personnel. Superintendents and school counselors testified, and the bill was laid over as amended.
Matt Grose, Superintendent of Grand Rapids Area Schools and MREA member, said his district is heading into its sixth year of budget cuts. He brought forward complaints of the broken funding formula causing clear inequities in school districts and the issues with the lack of operating referendums in north east Minnesota. Grose said that a seasonal recreational tax replacement aid would contribute to an operating referendum that would help his district by about 20%. The need for changes to the local optional revenue formula was also discussed. With a proposal for inflationary change, the outdated formula would increase funds to $974 per student. Grose ended by drawing attention to the issues with LTFM, including an ask to allow use of the funds for the much needed roof repairs on decades old buildings.
Senators raised questions about federal government funding and its impact on education early in the week. Sen. Kunesh mentioned that the Education Finance Committee will be scheduling a federal funding 101 hearing in the near future.
Senate Education Policy
In Senate Education Policy, Sen. Rasmusson brought forward SF 482, a bill calling to extend the short-call substitute teacher pilot program that began in 2023 by two years. Kristin Dehmer, Asst. Supt. of Business and Administrative Services for Moorhead Area Public Schools and MREA member, testified on behalf of the bill, emphasizing the tribulations they face due to the substitute teacher shortage. On average, only 65% of teacher absences in the Moorhead Area district were covered, leaving a staggering 35% of classrooms without coverage. According to Dehmer, the short-call substitute teacher program gives them the broader options they desperately need when dealing with substitute teacher shortage.
Sen. Hauschild brought the A1 amendment forward which would bring the daily minimum pay requirement for short-call substitute teachers down from $200 to $175 per day for districts or charter schools located in one of the seven counties in the metro equity region, or $150 per day for all other districts or charter schools. Sen. Hauschild made note that this amendment brings the pay to a level more in line with the average daily substitute pay that schools are currently paying. Hauschild stated that this change could increase the likelihood of participation in the program, particularly in the more rural areas. The amendment was adopted and SF 482 was passed to the Senate Education Finance committee.
This Week in Session
At this time, Committees have not posted any agendas for this week.
