A Crossroads for Minnesota’s Public

Schools

Parents United for Public SchoolsCommitted to Quality public schools for

ALL children

A Crossroads for Public Education

in Minnesota

Parents United for Public Schools

…Committed to quality public schools for all Minnesota children

Education is the Largest Part of the State Budget

A Constitutional mandate

Section 1.”UNIFORM SYSTEM OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it is the duty of the legislature to establish a general and uniform system of public schools. The legislature shall make such provisions by taxation or otherwise as will secure a thorough and efficient system of public schools throughout the state.”

The Lion’s Share of District Funding

Per pupil formula (Set by State Legislature)

x AMCPU (Adjusted Marginal Cost Pupil Unit)

= District Operating Funds

Year Formula Allowance

General Increase

Actual “New Dollars”

Actual % Change

1993-94 $3,050 -- ---- 0.00%

1994-95 $3,150 $100 ----- 0.00%

1995-96 $3,205 $55 $55 1.75%

1996-97 $3,505 $300 ---- 0.00%

1997-98 $3,581 $76 $76 2.17%

1998-99 $3,530 ($51) ($49) -1.37%

1999-00 $3,740 $210 $150 4.25%

2000-01 $3,964 $224 $95 2.54%

2001-02 $4,068 $104 $104 2.62%

2002-03 $4,601 $533 $118 2.90%

2003-04 $4,601 ---- ----- 0.00%

2004-05 $4,601 ---- ------ 0.00%

2005-06 $4,785 $184 $184 4.00%

2006-07 $4,976 $191 $191 4.00%

2007-08 $5,075 $99 $99 2.00%

2008-09 $5,124 $49 $49 1.00%

Total $2074 $1072 1.61% annually

Per Pupil Formula Analysis

History of the per pupil formula

After the 2005 Legislative session

$3,000

$3,500

$4,000

$4,500

$5,000

$5,500

$6,000

92-93 94-95 96-97 98-99 00-01 02-03 04-05 06-07

Cost Analysis Measure Inflation-Adjusted Change,

1996-2005

Fuel Oil 97.6%

Gasoline 44.6%

Educational Books and Supplies 32.0%

Energy (general) 31.2%

Medical Care

Source: Minnesota Department of Education; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

11.1%

Tax Reform in the 90’s

State policies reforming property tax Lowered taxes on commercial property Agricultural and recreational land removed from the

equation for school taxesThe 2001 General Education Buy Down The state picked up school costs once paid by local

property taxes Passed half of the legislation—the liability was accepted,

without a stated revenue stream to support it.

Requirements for public schools grew while revenue did not• Testing• Standards• Special education mandates• Transportation• English Language Learning• Health and safety mandates• Physical Education• HIV/AIDS Sex Education• Drug/Alcohol Abuse Education• Bus Safety• Title 1 programs• 100% Rule

Schools and Revenue in the 90’s

Increases in growth

Increases in expectations

Increases in cost

Income tax reductions

Property tax reductions

Business tax rate reductions

Schools

Revenue

How did schools survive?

Growth 100,000 new students in the 90’s

Cuts Spent fund balances down Passed Local Levies

School districts’ response

1990 47% of school districts in the state of Minnesota had levies in place

2000 that number rose to 88%

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

1989 2000

# of schools withlevies

In Minnesota, who are the students of the 21st

Century?

Population Change

Tom Gillaspy

378 2,374

12,904 11,912

-43,403

-15,835

-50000

-40000

-30000

-20000

-10000

0

10000

20000

Am Indian Asian Hispanic Black White Total

Ch

an

ge

En

roll

me

nt

20

00

-01

to

20

04

-05

Kids Count findings Children’s Defense

Fund

Most recent data shows:

About 1 in 10 MN children under 18 live in poverty Estimated 7,000 more children living below poverty

line than 5 years ago 68,000 uninsured children Greater participation in Food Support and Free and

Reduced School Lunches

Change In Minnesota School Enrollments 1999-00 to

2004-05 By Language Spoken At Home

Tom Gillaspy

-43,974

25,460

-18,514

-50000

-40000

-30000

-20000

-10000

0

10000

20000

30000

English Speaking

Total Non English

Total K-12 Students

Special Education Requirements1975 –”Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” (IDEA),

Public Law 105-17 Brought 1 million children who were previously kept at home

or in institutions into the public school system.

Federal government agreed to pay 40% of excess cost to educate these children. It has never provided 40%

• In 2004, Minnesota school districts reallocated $378 million meant for regular education instruction to provide state and federally mandated special education programs

• In 2005, the state auditor’s report on public school costs showed that the greatest increases in school budgets were for special education.

% of MN children rated “not yet” performing adequately at Kindergarten entrance Brookings Institute

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%0-$35,000

$35,001-$55,000

$55,001-$75,000

$75,001 ormore

Languageand literacy

Mathematical thinking

So…

More children qualifying for Free and Reduced Lunches (FRL)

More children needing English Language Learning services (ELL)

More children requiring Special Education services (SpEd)

100% rule for the first time in history

And the state response?

Programs shown to close the achievement gap have been cut child care eligibility early childhood education after school programs

English Language Learning services capped at 5 years From 2003 until 2007 the special education inflator was

abolished

Price of Government in Minnesota

John Gunyou17%

16%

15%

1992 2002 2006

The Price of Government is the State of Minnesota’s official measure and is factored as total revenue as a percentage of personal income.

So why

should any of this

matter to us?

Minnesota Future Labor Force Tom Gillaspy

0

150000

300000

450000

600000

1970-80 1980-90 1990-00 2000-10 2010-20 2020-30

Net Labor Force Growth

By 2020 65+ is Larger than K-12

By 2030 65+ Doubles Tom Gillaspy

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

18-24

65+

5-17

Reduced tax revenues

Beginning in 2020, from this cohort we

can count on Less income tax revenue Less sales tax revenue Less ability to pay increased property tax Greater demand on the same tax dollar

School funding is needed to

Prepare ALL students for 2020 not 2008 Help students meet state and federal mandates. Provide for the economic security of a district

and state

It’s their future, but it’s our responsibility

Parents United

Working to engage concerned citizens in the conversation around public policy and its

effect on our public schools

www.parentsunited.org

Advocates for Minnesota’s Public Schools