Governor Tim Walz released his revised budget for the next biennium on Friday. The revised budget includes $240 million in E-12 spending reductions for FY 26-27, which grow to $445M in E-12 reductions in FY 28-29.
Amidst the cuts to E-12, the Governor proposes increasing $55 million to address Compensatory Aid for one year as the state and school districts grapple with the fluctuations direct certification has on Compensatory Aid generation, specifically at the local school site level. The Governor is also proposing $30 million in one-time funding to the state’s Unemployment Insurance account to pay for next summer’s UI costs. Opening up the school district UI levy for summer term UI expenses is the only long term funding solution that has been debated. DFLers are reluctant to consider eliminating UI benefits for non-certified staff, having convinced themselves that UI benefits are a strong retention tool for districts.
The Walz E-12 cuts appear to be an attempt to spread the pain across public, private and charter schools, and teachers themselves as the most significant cuts in FY 26-27 include:
- Eliminate non-public student aid ($52M)
- Eliminate non-public transportation aid (58M)
- Eliminate charter school LTFM funds ($19M)
- Eliminate charter school special education adjustment ($20M)
- Reduce school district Special Education Transportation reimbursements to public schools ($53M)
- Eliminate teacher pay and professional development by repealing QComp ($79M)
- Reduce school district library and telecom aid ($8.25M)
- Eliminate school district Compensatory Pilot funds ($6.5M)
MREA members are encouraged to join Tuesday’s Advocacy Briefing for more discussion around the Governor’s proposed budget.
