Editorial: Get Minnesota back to work

When District Judge Kathleen Gearin ruled that school payments should continue during the state shutdown, many Minnesota school leaders breathed a sigh of relief. Millions in state aid to schools will be paid this week as usual.

That might cause the public to put K-12 education in the "Shutdown? What shutdown?" category, thinking that everything's OK for schools. But that would be to overlook minor problems that could grow into major ones if state government isn't fully operating soon.

For many schools, summer is the time for construction, maintenance and remodeling. But those projects can't proceed or be completed if state inspectors aren't on the job to approve some of the work.

School leaders in Mahtomedi, for example, are building and remodeling a high school and are concerned that a lengthy state shutdown could delay the opening of the school. They say that to continue construction and remodeling at the current pace, routine state safety inspections are required. Failure to conduct those inspections could stop the project altogether.

High school seniors trying to plan the next phase of their lives could also be affected by the shutdown. Some who did not pass state graduation tests and want to retake them this month may have them postponed.

Others can take the test, but there is no one at the Education Department to score them or send verification that they've passed. That could affect students' ability to get into college or get a job.

Neither schools nor students should be on hold because policymakers can't get their act together and keep the state in business.

Still, the shutdown is causing staffing issues. New teachers who need licenses or variances to teach in certain areas can't get them. School positions that are funded by the federal government must be processed through the state. Superintendents can't fill those positions if they can't get those funds.

Brooklyn Center district officials reported that they applied for a federal grant to hire teacher trainers. But because the state Education Department is closed, there's no way to be notified about whether they got the grant to make the hires.

While schools will receive their regular general aid state payments this week, the current shutdown, now on day 13, is also having some financial effects. This is the time when some districts are preparing to ask taxpayers for more funding in school levy referendums.

But in order to put those questions on ballots the district must go through a review process with the state. And to set school taxes that don't require a vote, districts must have levy authorization from the state -- yet another process that can't happen during a shutdown.

The potential for tremendous disruption in the state's K-12 operations adds to the long list of reasons lawmakers should resolve their differences and get a budget passed.