Speaking to a crowd of superintendents Monday, Gov. Mark Dayton made the case for the final budget's positive impact on K-12 education and emphasized that his administration should be "your ally, not your enemy."
Dayton told the annual gathering of superintendents in Brooklyn Park that, while he disliked the funding shift that balanced the final budget, the bill did contain a major funding boost for K-12 education. Much of it was included in the $50 per year formula increase, which will also help schools pay interest expenses related to borrowing.
"We agreed on a final level of spending for K-12 education this biennium of over $133 million above the base," Dayton said to applause. "That is very much a shared commitment, as it should be. And that has to be viewed in the context of also having to eliminate a $5 billion budget deficit."
He also garnered applause after noting that he will continue to push for his income tax plan, which would have "provided real revenues, progressive revenues, and ongoing revenues."
Dayton highlighted the K-12 bill's emphasis on teacher and principal evaluations and elimination of unnecessary mandates.
"Also important is what's not in the final bill," he added, pointing specifically to a proposed voucher system, A-F grades for evaluating Minnesota schools, and the "undermining and even the outright destruction of the collective bargaining rights."
After emphasizing that his office should be "your ally, not your enemy," the governor offered the crowd the number to his private residence.
The governor then jetted to the St. Paul River Centre, where he addressed the Minnesota Reading Corps Summer Institute.
