GOP Proposes bill to repay school shift

Omnibus bill pays of extended 2011 shift, beings to repay DFL’s 2010 shift

ST. PAUL, March 8, 2012 -- Minnesota House Republicans today proposed a bill that would pay off the extended school shift enacted as part of the compromise budget agreed to with Governor Dayton in July 2011. The bill would also start repaying the debt to schools left by the 2010 DFL Legislature.

"With this bill in law we would pay back all of the 10-percent additional shift the Legislature and the governor agreed to in balancing budget," said House Education Finance Committee Chair Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington. “That debt would be repaid to schools and we’d starting paying back the debt this Legislature inherited at the start of last year.”

The shift repayment will come from the $1 billion in cash the state currently sits on, Garofalo said. That cash is the result of more positive economic forecasts since last year’s budget agreement. The first $318 million repayment is already certified by Minnesota Management & Budget and scheduled to be made later this month.

“In just eight months, the budget outlook improved enough so that we can repay schools,” said House Speaker Kurt Zellers. “We’re saying that instead of letting that cash sit in a bank account, we use it to pay back the shift. That should be our priority.”

The bill – House File 2083 – would repay schools $430 million to return the payment schedule to the 70/30 rate it was at the start of the 2011 legislative session. It would then make the first repayment toward the shift enacted by the DFL legislature in 2010.

“We are repaying our shift and starting to clean up the debt the Democrats left schools under in 2010,” Garofalo said. “My hope is they will go along with us in starting payments on the portion of the debt they are responsible for passing onto our schools,” he added.

HF 2083 is the omnibus education policy and finance bill. It will be up for a vote before the full Minnesota House this month.

What DFLers have been saying about repaying the shift:

STATE SURPLUS $1.2 BILLION; POSITIVE ECONOMIC FORECAST CONTINUES

SAINT PAUL -- (February 29, 2012) -- Speaker of the Minnesota House Kurt Zellers today said good fiscal management by Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature has turned the state's bleak economic outlook from one year ago into positive news.

“In one year our state went from a $6.1 billion deficit to a $1.2 billion surplus. The Republican plan is working,” said Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers. “The state's revenue growth is not attributable to new taxes, but to a recovering economy that allows hard-working jobs creators and families to succeed."

According to Minnesota Management and Budget, Minnesota's financial outlook has improved slightly since November with forecast revenues up $33.8 billion, which is up $93 million from November estimates. Forecast state government spending is projected to be down $528 million from previous estimates. These changes result in an additional $323 million to the state's budget. When combined with the $876 million surplus in November, the state of Minnesota now has a $1.2 billion surplus.

Zellers credited stronger than expected revenue growth, reduced state spending and low unemployment rate combined with private sector economic growth for the state's additional revenue.  He added that had Republicans not restrained state spending, government spending would be increasing at a rate far higher than even a strong economy can support.

"The February forecast confirms what we saw in November. This is a positive trend that Republicans remain committed to continuing. Investment and private sector jobs must be welcomed, not chased away by excessive taxes, regulations and burdensome government bureaucracy," Zellers said.

The surplus means the state’s budget picture has changed dramatically from when the Legislature convened one year ago. At that time, the state faced a $6.1 billion deficit with no budget reserve and no cash flow account to ward against short-term borrowing. Today, the $1.2 billion surplus means the reserve and cash flow account will be fully restored with enough left over to begin repaying the additional 10-percent school shift that resulted from the budget agreement.

“Republicans and Democrats agree repayment of the shift is a top priority. We were thrilled a strong private sector economy is providing the resources necessary to pay the additional 10 percent that resulted from the budget agreement. We remain committed to paying back that percentage and then tackling the 70/30 shift as agreed to by the Democrats when they controlled the Minnesota Legislature,” Zellers said.

Zellers said he was disappointed Governor Mark Dayton and the DFL continue to push for tax increases.

"Job-killing tax increases to fuel unchecked government growth is a bad idea. Minnesota ranks 39th in tax burden for existing businesses and 35th for new businesses. We need to spend less time talking about raising taxes and more time creating economic opportunity," Zellers said. “The Reform 2.0 agenda being worked on at the State Capitol will restore confidence in our economy to grow businesses and create jobs, improve education and reform government services to make them more effective to the people government serves and cost-efficient to the taxpayers who pay for it."

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Minnesota House Closes Loophole in Sex Offender Community Notification Law

The Minnesota House of Representatives today voted to close a loophole in the state's sex offender community notification law.

Under current state law, local law enforcement is prohibited from holding community notification meetings on sex offenders being released from the Minnesota Sexual Offender Program (MSOP) to a half-way house. The Minnesota House today approved legislation that will authorize local law enforcement to notify the public when a sex offender from MSOP is provisionally discharged into the community.

"One of our first responsibilities as legislators is public safety. Current state law regarding community notification of sex offenders contained an unfortunate loophole that could jeopardize public safety," said Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers. "If high risk sex offenders are going to be released from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, citizens deserve to know where they will live."

During a February 15 legislative hearing, MSOP officials said that Minnesota state law does not require community notification in instances of sex offenders from the program being released to a halfway house. House Republicans were concerned with this information as a judicial panel recently decided to provisionally discharge Clarence Opheim, a sex offender who molested 29 children in the 1970s and 1980s. Opheim is expected to be released from the MSOP program in the next week.

"Communities should be informed when a convicted sex offender moves into their neighborhood," said Representative Kathy Lohmer, author of the bill. "Instead of rumor and uncertainty, community notification will provide factual public safety information regarding the discharge and supervision of sex offenders from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program to concerned citizens."

The bill was sent to the Minnesota Senate. Governor Mark Dayton has indicated he will sign the bill into law.

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Speaker Kurt Zellers on Ending Last In, First Out

"Seniority privilege should not trump student achievement. Today decisions about who to fire, layoff and even promote are based solely on seniority and ignore teacher effectiveness. Minnesota is one of a dozen states that require Last in, First Out based on state law instead of locally-negotiated contract. The Minnesota House today approved legislation that removes this rigid and outdated state law. Experience matters but the number of years served is not an adequate measure of ability, competence and success in teaching kids. We need to stand up for kids. Our education reform agenda was developed to help students, close the achievement gap and ensure great, quality teachers in the classroom. Ending the Last In, First Out practice is a great step in the right direction."

House Republicans focus on hiring and keeping effective teachers

The Minnesota House of Representatives will kick off the education portion of their “Reform 2.0” initiative as Representatives Andrea Kieffer and Branden Petersen present education reform bills on the House floor this week. Both bills are meant to improve Minnesota teachers by ensuring that Minnesota school districts are hiring and keeping effective teachers.

Representative Andrea Kieffer (R-Woodbury) sponsors House File 1770, which requires teacher candidates to pass the basic skills exam before being granted an initial teaching license.

“We all agree that we need to raise the bar for teacher candidates in order to solve the achievement gap,” Kieffer said. “Current law requires the basic skills test, but still allows teachers in the classroom even if they fail. This bill addresses concerns that teacher candidates should not be allowed into the classroom prior to passing the basic skills exam.”

The bill also requires teachers who completed their teacher preparation program outside Minnesota to pass the basic skills exam before being granted a Minnesota teaching license.

“The bill has received bi-partisan authorship in the House and Senate,” Kieffer said. “I look forward to continued bi-partisan progress as the legislation moves through the Senate and eventually to Governor Dayton’s desk.”

In an effort to keep effective teachers, Representative Branden Petersen (R-Andover) authored House File 1870, which would eliminate a Minnesota state statute that forces school districts to consider only seniority, and ignore performance, when unfortunate teacher layoffs (ULA) are required. This bill will allow school districts to consider a teacher’s subject matter, licensure fields and their effectiveness, along with seniority when facing personnel decisions.

House File 1870 would amend Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 122A.40, subdivisions 1.510, 11; and 122A.41, subdivision 14 which mandate that school districts account only for teacher seniority in the case of unrequested leave of absence, discharge, and demotion decisions. Minnesota is one of only 11 states in the country that retains this work rule for teachers.

"I believe this bill is an essential step in improving the performance of our teachers and school systems for the benefit of our students," said Petersen. "A question that must be asked in this discussion is, ‘How can ignoring a teacher’s performance during layoffs (ULA) benefit our students in the classroom?’ Considering the fact that we know teachers are the most important in-school factor relating to student learning, it is essential that we protect our highest performing teachers."

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