The 2023 legislative session is underway. We are hopeful that a portion of the state’s $17.5 billion surplus will be allocated to education and help STMA students, staff, families, and taxpayers. With this large budget surplus, this is an unprecedented opportunity to advocate for our students. 

The next few days are pivotal in the 2023 Legislative Session as the legislature is putting together the two-year state budget. We need legislators to prioritize education funding. House and Senate leaders will be announcing budget targets for the various finance committees soon. Each finance committee, including the House and Senate Education Finance Committees, will then develop their respective omnibus budget bills over the next week. We need YOUR HELP in advocating for our students and staff. 

• Increase the basic formula by 5% each year and index to inflation. This would mean an increase of approximately $1.5 million to next year’s budget. This is the equivalent of approximately 20 teachers. HF439 (Norris) / SF448 (Gustafson)

• Fully fund the special education cross subsidy. In FY2021, STMA diverted $4.1 million or $598 per pupil of funding meant for general education classroom instruction to cover mandated, but unreimbursed, special education programming. This means we have to take $4.1 million from our general fund annually to cover the costs for these mandates. To be clear, this is not about our students who receive special education services. It is about the state and federal governments not funding their mandates. This would not reduce money intended for special education services but would mean more money for smaller class sizes, programming, and more teachers and support staff. Fully funding the special education cross subsidy would mean $4.1 million or 54.7 teachers. HF18 (Wolgamott) / SF28 (Westlin)

• Increase local optional revenue (LOR) by $116 per pupil and link to the basic formula. This would mean additional revenue of $845,000 or 11.3 teachers. HF18 (Wolgamott) / SF28 (Westlin)

• Increase safe schools revenue from $36 to $108 per pupil. This would mean additional revenue of $522,000 or 7 teachers. It would allow us to hire additional counselors to address the growing mental health needs of our students. HF1360 (Clardy) / SF1884 (Oumou Verbetten)

• Refrain from enacting any new unfunded mandates. Unfunded mandates that divert resources of time or money strain district budgets. As each district is unique, each school board should have local control to manage limited resources to provide the best possible education for all students. Some of the proposed policy bills would use the majority of the new state revenue and leave little for our students.

The Ask

Please contact our local legislators Senator Lucero and Representative Hudson as well and the members of the House Education Finance Committee and the Senate Education Finance Committee THIS WEEK to urge them to include the priorities below in their Omnibus Education Finance Bills. Feel free to draft your own email or use the one below.

Dear MN Legislator,

Thank you for your support of students in the St. Michael-Albertville Public School District as well as students across Minnesota.

Over the past couple of budget cycles, my district has experienced significant budget shortfalls. Our shortfalls are not the result of poor budget planning or even the pandemic. Our budget challenges are due to state funding not keeping pace with inflation and our students not qualifying for much categorical aid, factors largely outside of our control. 

Recently, my district cut $7.3 million dollars and 77 staff members. Our class sizes are very high with classes approaching 30 in kindergarten and grade one, 42 in grade five, and the low 40s in core classes at our high school. We have also expanded our walk zone, which means we have five and six-year olds walking a mile to and from school, drastically reduced our high potential programming, doubled our high school activity fees, and more. This has taken a toll on our staff as we have seen many high-quality staff members leave due to having to do more with much less. 

Please support our students and staff by prioritizing education funding by:

• Increase the basic formula by 5% each year and index to inflation. This would mean an increase of approximately $1.5 million to next year’s budget. This is the equivalent of approximately 20 teachers. HF439 (Norris) / SF448 (Gustafson)

• Fully fund the special education cross subsidy. In FY2021, STMA diverted $4.1 million or $598 per pupil of funding meant for general education classroom instruction to cover mandated, but unreimbursed, special education programming. Fully funding the special education cross subsidy would mean $4.1 million or 54.7 teachers. HF18 (Wolgamott) / SF28 (Westlin)

• Increase local optional revenue (LOR) by $116 per pupil and link to the basic formula. This would mean additional revenue of $845,000 or 11.3 teachers. HF18 (Wolgamott) / SF28 (Westlin)

• Increase safe schools revenue from $36 to $108 per pupil. This would mean additional revenue of $522,000 or 7 teachers. This would allow us to hire additional counselors to address the growing mental health needs of our students. HF1360 (Clardy) / SF1884 (Oumou Verbetten)

• Refrain from enacting any new unfunded mandates. Unfunded mandates that divert resources of time or money strain district budgets. As each district is unique, each school board should have local control to manage limited resources to provide the best possible education for all students. Some of the proposed policy bills would use the majority of the “new” state revenue and leave little for our students and staff.

[Insert concise, personal story about how budget reductions impact you and/or your child(ren). You can talk about large class sizes, staff cuts, program reductions, expanded walk zone, increase in fees, etc.]

Thank you for your time and for advocating for all students.

Respectfully,

Your Name

St. Michael-Albertville Public School District

Postal Address (include so they know you are a constituent), email address, & possibly phone number

YOUR VOICE MATTER

YOUR VOICE MATTERS

For additional information about school funding and legislative advocacy, please visit the STMA Legislative Page.

YOUR VOICE MATTERS! Please take the time to have your voice heard. Thanks, in advance, for your advocacy and support of STMA students and staff.

Per-pupil formula increase tied to inflation
(HF439 (Norris)/SF448 (Gustafson)
Increases per-pupil formula by 5% per year and links future formula increases to inflation.

Fully fund special education cross subsidy
HF18 (Wolgamott)/SF28 (Westlin)
Provides state funding for the full amount of school districts’ adjusted net cross subsidy beginning in
FY24.

Increase Local Optional Revenue
HF879 (Youakim)/SF866 (Westlin)
Increases the total revenue amount from $724 per pupil to $840 per pupil for FY25, links local optional revenue to the growth in the formula allowance for subsequent years and equalizes the total revenue at $880,000 per pupil.

Debt service equalization aid
HF1396 (Hemmingsen-Jaeger)/SF2552 (Kupec)
Combines the debt service revenue program into just two tiers: requiring a local levy of up to ten percent of ANTC for the first tier; and equalizing all amounts above that at the state average tax base per pupil for the second tier (estimated at $12,739 for fiscal year 2025). Increases state aid and lower property taxes by about $41 million per year.

Excess levy equalization aid
HF1271 (Youakim)/SF1601 (Hoffman)
Increases the first tier equalizing factor from $567,000 to 150 percent of the statewide referendum market value per pupil unit ($1,262,240 for fiscal year 2025). This change is estimated to increase state aid and correspondingly reduce the local property tax levy for referendum revenue by roughly $90 million per year beginning in fiscal year 2025

Fully fund English Learner programs
HF22 (Her)/SF21 (Oumou Verbetten)
Increases the basic EL allowance from $704 to $1,000 per EL student. Phase-in funding over four years.

Safe schools funding
HF1360 (Clardy)/SF1884 (Oumou Verbetten)
Increases safe schools funding by $108, includes all cooperative school districts and increases that funding by $44, sets a minimum funding guarantee of $100,000 and adds cybersecurity activities to the list of eligible uses.

Read Act
HF629 (Edelson)/SF1273 (Maye Quade)
appropriates money for grants to school districts to move to science of reading instruction. Funding can be used for curriculum and staff development.

Teacher prep time increase
HF827 (Keeler)/SF680
Requires five additional minutes of preparation time per every 17 minutes of classroom instructional time and requires this to be provided in one or two uninterrupted blocks.

Omnibus Education Policy Bills
HF1269 (Pryor)/SF1311 (Cwodzinski)

Class size ratio tied to formula funding
HF2619 (Stephenson)/SF1881 (Kunesh)
Increases the general education basic formula allowance by 20 percent and ties formula to inflation. Requires a school district to negotiate class size with its teachers and establishes class size ratios for each grade (K-3, 17 to one; grades 4 to 9, 21 to one; grades 10 to 12, 23 to one)

PELRA modifications
HF1690 (Jordan)/SF1633 (Hauschild)
• Allows a temporary or seasonal school district or charter school employee to be counted as a “public employee,” for purposes of collective bargaining.
• Requires collective bargaining over e-learning days, class size, student testing, student to personnel ratios.
• Removes the number of personnel as a matter of inherent managerial policy that school districts are not required to meet and negotiate on.
• Allows community education and early childhood family education teachers to obtain tenure or continuing contract.
• Requires school districts to give unions more building access to employees.
• Requires school districts to provide unions personnel data.
• Changes teacher probationary periods from 120 days to 90.

Education Service Professional bill
HF1348 (Tabke)/SF1318 (Mann)
• Requires paraprofessionals who work with students with disabilities to be given 16 hours paid time or time during the day to review students’ IEPs and annual paid orientation or professional development.
• Requires health insurance benefits for school employees at specific cost sharing levels (100% premium for single with 50% out of pocket maximum, and 85% of a family premium with 50% of out of pocket expenses).
• Requires schools using e-learning days to pay school employees their full wages during the elearning period.
• Raises unlicensed staff wages to at least $25 per hour.

Paid Family and Medical Leave bill
HF2 (Richardson)/SF2 (Mann)
• Creates the Family and Medical Benefits Insurance Division within Department of Economic Development for administration of the program.
• Provides for prorated weekly benefit amounts for hourly workers or employees who use sick leave, paid time off, or other paid time off.
• Allows up to 12 weeks of benefits for an applicant’s own pregnancy or a serious health condition, and up to 12 weeks of benefits to care for a family member with a serious health condition, for safety leave, or for bonding.

Earned Safe and Sick Time
HF19 (Olson)/SF34 (Pappas)
• Requires employers to allow employees to earn, at a minimum, one hour of paid ESS time for every
30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours per year, unless an
• employer agrees to provide more.
• Accrual begins when a qualified employee begins employment and may be used as it is accrued.
• Employers must allow employees to carry over accrued but unused ESS time from year to year –
not to exceed a maximum of 80 hours unless the employer chooses to provide a more generous
policy.
• Significantly expands definition of “family member.”

The 2023 STMA Legislative Forum is scheduled for December 7 at 7:00 p.m. Check back soon for additional information.

The 2023 STMA Legislative Platform was approved at the 12-05-2022 Regular School Board meeting.