TO THE EDITOR:
Last year the Democrat-trifecta passed a hyper-partisan K-12 education funding budget filled with unfunded mandates. The result has been to further crush school budgets in our community and across the state that were already strained. I’ve spoken with many superintendents and school board members who are frustrated at the number of new mandates placed on them by the Democrat-trifecta. In fact, the cost of the new mandates far exceed any new dollars our schools received forcing further potential budget shortfalls.
The new unfunded mandates have pushed school budgets even further into the red, further increasing hardship, and further denying educational opportunities for students.
This is a travesty inflicted unilaterally by the Democrat-trifecta and their extreme agenda. Despite multiple warnings from local school officials and from Republican members of the Senate Education Finance Committee such as myself that the new mandates would hurt our schools, the Democrat-trifecta pushed forward nevertheless.
This session I am co-authoring a bill, Senate File 5025, to give more flexibility to our local school districts by allowing school boards to transfer new funding from one area to another by passing a simple public resolution. Affording such flexibility and autonomy is a priority for me because I continue working to return meaning to “independent” in “independent school district.” Our local school boards, superintendents, teachers, and staff are FAR better at making the best decisions for our children than bureaucrats and politicians in Saint Paul.
On March 21, Senate Republicans offered an amendment to immediately vote to delay the unfunded mandates, but Democrats once again ignored the pleas for relief by schools and defeated our motion.
Despite the Democrat-trifecta’s efforts to suppress local-level decision making for our children, I will continue working hard for our schools!
Sincerely,
Senator Eric Lucero
District 30
Rockford Township, Hanover, Saint Michael, Albertville, Otsego, Elk River, Nowthen, Western Oak Grove