Minnesota should return to state funding model for public schools

Minnesotans know that our country was founded on a free and fair public education for all and it is fundamental to a just and democratic society.

Unfortunately, many of our schools today are not meeting this vision for what we as Minnesotans want for our children. Why? Republicans will say that the public school system is failing and vouchers are the answer. I say that this does not align with Minnesotans’ values. We believe all students deserve a free and fair education, but private and charter schools do not take all students. They can decline students and too often, our kids with higher needs are turned down. The real solution is a shift back to funding education the way it was before 2003.

During the past two decades, funding for schools has shifted from state funding to local property tax. Not only is this not equitable, it is unsustainable. In 2003, under Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, state funding to schools was cut, massively, and we have never recouped those losses. Districts rich in businesses and industry can pass large local property tax levies, while districts that cannot afford to pass increasing local property tax levies are decimated and cannot even provide basic education services. Increasingly, these funding inequities are creating school districts that are divided into the haves or the have-nots.

As a public school teacher with a career that began in 1999, I have seen over the last two decades the devastation this has caused many school districts. I witnessed a shift from education support professionals being able to work one-on-one with our kids with the highest need to trying to assist up to 15 high needs students at a time. I have seen counselors with over 850 students assigned to them. I have seen classrooms packed with over 40 students. This is a crisis mode of operation, and sadly, it has become the norm.

In Minnesota, we value raising responsible and knowledgeable citizens that not only have twenty first century skills in technology, medicine, and science, but also have a deep understanding of our history, how our government works, and appreciation of the arts. We value education as a basic human right, and we know our kids need schools where they can unleash their creativity and practice the problem-solving and collaboration to be ready for the future.

We can achieve our vision for our schools. By fully funding schools at the State Capitol, every student in Minnesota can get the education that they rightfully deserve.

Kari Rehrauer is an educator and a member of the Coon Rapids City Council. She is candidate for the Minnesota Senate in District 35.