Education likely to take a hit with Accounting Shifts (Updated and Bumped)

With the desperate, impassioned efforts to override Tim Pawlenty’s vetoes essentially over, most of the high drama around this biennium’s budget is essentially over.  Like other sections of the budget, E-12 Education takes a hit through accounting shifts — where the state delays paying this year’s per-pupil funding until next year — but DFL education champ Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL – Roseville) is calling it ‘good enough’, because the core legislation does not reduce school funding.  

According to MPR’s Polinaut blog, the shift will be worth $1.775 billion, or almost 13% of the $13.7 billion appropriated by HF 2.  To fill the holes in their budgets, districts will have to borrow enough money to tide them over into the next fiscal year, when the state money will be delivered.  This, though, increases each district’s debt burden, reducing the amount of money they can spend on classrooms, busing, etc. because they will have to pay interest on the borrowed money.  In terms of immediate, local impact, this could speed up the closure of three St Paul elementary schools that were originally slated to close after the 2009-10 school year.

Update (5/19/09; 11:30am): Bill Sailsbury of the PiPress says Pawlenty may delay repaying the nearly-$1.8 billion in shifts until the 2012-13 biennium.  Wow!  That’s gonna smart.  Particularly because he’s been so resistant to raising additional revenue, instead of hoping that the economy will quickly recover, and revenues will rise to provide education funding for that biennium AND money to pay back the shifts.  

Because the DFL essentially threw their budget proposal back in the governor’s face after he vetoed it the first time, the Governor will likely make good on his threat to unilatterally unallot what spending he doesn’t like, come June 1.  Pawlenty hasn’t said he will target education for cuts, but it’s still up in the air until he makes his decisions public; furthermore, several school districts around the state are in statutory operating debt, or very near, and unallotments may sink them if they are not handled sensatively.  PIM’s Dan Feidt has Speaker Kelliher’s take on Pawlenty’s plans:

12:50 a.m. update: Speaker Kelliher talked to a former governor and “friend” about unallotment and fiscal responsibility on the way in. The unallotment statute was put in for emergencies, she says, “probably an extreme stretch” of what was intended by the statute. If a DFL governor did this kind of unallotment, there would be a similar concern. “it will be the sixth time in history… and for him, the third time using the tool.” It was his “backstop” or “walkaway point” which he was willing to use to walk away. Kelliher expects there may be people who use to try unallotment, she says.

Filed under: Minnesota, St Paul, Budget Crisis, Education, Education Funding, Large-Scale System Change, St Paul Public Schools, Tim Pawlenty

Conference Committees and Education Funding — Why I love MN Budget Bites

They sit in conference committees so we don’t have to.  I admit, I’m a bit of a wonk (My weekend reading will be pouring over a big chunk of data from Minneapolis Public Schools that accompanied the administration’s original proposal), but even I try to avoid legislative sessions like the plague.  Fortunately, there’s Minnesota Budget Bites, who’ve got a very readable rundown on the three competing E-12 budget proposals from the House, Senate, and Governor Tim Pawlenty, that are being hashed out in conference committee this week and next.   Some highlights:

• Use of federal stimulus dollars
• Dollar figures for several reform innitiatives, including the House’s New Minnesota Miracle ($0 — they just want to put the funding formula into law, so it can slowly be phased in from 2014 on), and T-Paw’s expansion of the Q-Comp pay-for-performance program and financial rewards for districts that raise students’ test scores ($91 million for the latter, an unnamed combo of state and increased local contributions for the former)
• Local property tax relief 

Filed under: Minnesota, Budget Crisis, Education, Education Funding, Education Reform, Mindy Greiling, Minnesota, Q Comp, Stimulating Stimuli, Tim Pawlenty

St Paul Public Schools are Downsizing, too! (Updated)

Some innitial thoughts on the St Paul Public Schools’ new downsizing plan (pdf) to be presented at tonight’s school board meeting.  Background available here and here.

1) Similar to Minneapolis’ downsizing plan, this sticks a lot of the richer white neighborhoods off in their own quadrant. both the Mac-Groveland and Highland Park neighborhoods are in the same region.  Both are very white, and median family income is in the $69-79,000 range.  Will this impact district politics by focusing privileged voices around a few schools?

2) This may do an even worse job of solving structural budget issues than the Minneapolis Public Schools plan did.   I can’t find a good breakdown of the SPPS deficit on their website right now, but the total savings listed in the PowerPoint is only $2.2 million from the busing reductions and $2.4 million from closing three elementary schools, folding Humboldt Jr. High into the Sr. High, and rep-purposing one closed elementary building, possibly for administrative space.  That’s a long way from the district’s $25 million shortfall from Fiscal Year 2008-2009 to FY ’09-10.  (By way of comparison: around $9 million of Minneapolis schools’ $28 million budget shortfall is caused by declining enrollment)

3) I’m impressed by the relative openness of the decision-making process: input requested, priorities formulated, and decisions based off of a ranking/grading system that’s put up in the presentation.  This is a far cry from the way Minneapolis carried out their planning — many parents I’ve spoken with complained that they couldn’t see how parents’ input had influenced the development of scenarios.

4) Why the hell did SPPS join Q-Comp?  Why did the SPPS administration propose to join the Q-Comp program? This is a program that has been losing school districts, and was recently canned as not ready to be expanded, because there wasn’t enough evidence to prove it was an effective teacher-development tool.  The St Paul Federation of teachers will have to approve this aspect of the plan in the coming round of contract negotiations.

Filed under: Minnesota, St Paul, Budget Crisis, Education, Education Funding, Minnesota, Q Comp, St Paul Public Schools

Budget Battles: the local angle

Lisa Yarost/Flickr

Only in financial times like these can you hear things in school board meetings that make your blood run cold, or at least a bit nippy.  Like an additional $10 million in cuts to the school budget, on top of a $25 million shortfall.  

Filed under: Minnesota, St Paul, Budget Crisis, Education, Education Funding, Minnesota, St Paul

Thursday’s Schools Roundup – Anti-bullying legislation / Loopholes and fuzzy stimulus guidance / Liberian ed reform

• Another school district goes to the 4-day week to save money, without cutting staff. (Bemidji Pioneer)
• A propos of the anti-bullying before the legislature (that comes up for a vote soon), an Ohio family is suing their son’s school district for failing to stop the homophobic bullying that led their 17-year-old to shoot himself in the head in 2006.  The family is seeking to force the district to institute an anti-bullying program.  (Minnesota Independent)  Via TowleRoad comes the story of a sixth-grader in Springfield, MA, who hung himself after school officials failed to address the bullying or its emotional impact. (Springfield Republican)  
• St Paul Public School students have won their fight to ban candy cigarettes, saying they promotes youth smoking.  (Star-Tribune)
• Sen. Amy Klobuchar is holding hearings around the state about NCLB reform (see the bottom of the page).
• As the announcement of this year’s Broad Prize winner draws near, the folks at Change.org remind us of the prestigious education prize’s sordid history.  (Change.org)
• An editorial in today’s NY Times accuses the federal government of leaving too many loopholes in the education portion of the stimulus package, and the Fordham Foundation’s education blog reviews the extremely fuzzy metrics governing how states can spend this money. (NY Times / Flypaper / Ed.gov)
• From Minnesota’s own Liberian Journal, a neat (but short) essay on the reforms needed in war-torn Liberia’s education system.

Today’s recipe: vegan Carrot-Parsnip Soup (Poor Girl Gourmet).  I hope the next time I make this, I don’t get almost-struck by lightening like that!

Filed under: Minnesota, National, St Paul, "Safe Schools for All" Bill, Education, Education Funding, Education Reform, LGBT, Minnesota, News, St Paul Public Schools, Stimulating Stimuli

Wednesday Schools’ Roundup – Admission Possible expands / St Paul gets stimulus $ / Braised Artichokes

• Admission Possible expands into North Metro suburbs.  AP is an college-prep organization that works in schools to get low-income students ready for college, and guides them through the admissions process. (Star-Tribune)
•  The St Paul Public Schools’ Board of Education gets an update on how they can spend federal stimulus dollars.  The district expects to receive $29 million, but because of strings attached to the funding, it will not prevent layoffs planned to close the district’s $25 million budget shortfall, caused by declining enrollment, which reduces the amount of aid a school district receives from the state. (Pioneer Press)
• Secretary of Education Arne Duncan talks more about how he’d like to see schools spend the stimulus money. (Education Week)
• Remember the Pioneer Press’ recent series on how hyper-competitive school sports have become?  The Star-Tribune has a piece on the pricey “spring training” trips to Florida taken by some high school sports teams. (Star-Tribune)
• Tom Doher of Education Minnesota (the state teacher’s union) doesn’t like the Senate’s education budget. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t really like any of the big three budget proposals – from the House, Senate, and Governor – circulating around the State House.  He also doesn’t really answer Cathy Wurzer’s questions (and she doesn’t press him further) about why districts can’t use their reserves to make up payment shifts, and how he proposes to close the education budget gap.  He definitely does not like Q-Comp, though, and argues that it will increase inequity in the classroom, and between districts.  Look for more on this, later. (MPR)

I think I’ll have to try to make this recipe: artichokes braised in lemon and olive oil.  One of my favorite foods as a kid was Artichokes boiled with peppercorns, and served with a mustard-herb vinaigrette, so maybe I’m biased, but my mouth watered when I read that post!

Filed under: Minneapolis, Minnesota, National, St Paul, Admission Possible, Arne Duncan, Education, Education Funding, Food, School Sports, Stimulating Stimuli, Tom Doher

Monday Schools’ Roundup – Sickening Budget Crisis / Integration Woes / Ed Reform in China

 

Flickr/ingirogio

Today, I’ve got some good news and some bad news.  First, the bad:

 

• MPR points out that between them, Minnesota public and charter public schools have around $1 billion in reserves, an unprecedented amount.  Some state legislators argue that this means they can handle a deferred payments from the state, or a cut in the education budget as legislators try to plug the $4.5 billion hole in the state budget.  (MPR)
• Why is this bad? because some schools, like the St. Louis County schools, in the Iron Range, are so desperate for funds, they’re closing schools.  This re-organization, though, might mean the district will loose up to $2.1 million in sparsity aid (given to schools that draw students from a very wide area).  “We can envision no scenario that would keep the district out of statutory operating debt without sparsity aid,” said a consultant helping the district. (Mesabi Daily News / Timberjay Newspapers)
• Meanwhile, St. Cloud schools are considering raising taxes to fill their deficit, and Mendota Heights school leaders are taking a pay freeze, and schools in Michigan are skeptical that federal stimulus money – intended to help schools stave off budget crises – will help, or even be accepted by most schools because it has so many strings attached. (St Cloud Times / Pioneer Press / Adrian Daily Telegram)

Now, the good news!

• The federal government is considering simplifying the colelge student financial aid process. (MN Daily)
• Fargo-Moorehead students are back in class after spending two weeks manning the levees on the Red River (Associated Press)
• Many metro-area districts are echoing Minneapolis Schools’ complaints that current integration efforts like the West Metro Education Program are not working.  This may sound like a death-knell for these integration efforts, but it also means there is an energy that can be channeled for reform and progress.

Lastly, China considders reforms to their higher education system (BeijingReview.com.cn), and the NY Times’ Room for Debate blog gives five common food myths.

Filed under: Minneapolis, Minnesota, National, Budget Crisis, Education, Education Funding, Education Reform, Minnesota, Segregation, Stimulating Stimuli

Friday’s Schools Roundup — T-Paw’s Suspect Budget / Cops in Mpls Schools / Snuggies!

This morning, the state Senate’s Finance Committee approved Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s education budget, but critics and education activists are questioning the wisdom of relying on Federal stimulus funds to fund a $100 million increase that the state won’t be able to support when the stimulus money runs out in two years.  The  Education and Taxes committees will both have a say before the full Senate votes on the bill later this month. (Hometown Source / MN Daily)

In Minneapolis, city cops are returning to the halls of public schools after a 5-year hiatus where the Park Police provided these school liaison officers.  The Star Tribune article says the aim is to “de-criminalize ‘school’ behavior”, but is sketchy on what that means.  From the reduced number of cases referred to courts cited in the story, it sounds like these officers are trying to mediate disputes and discipline problems in the school, without threatening legal action.

Lastly, someone has organized a “snuggie bar crawl.”   James Lileks reports…

Filed under: Minneapolis, Minnesota, Budget Crisis, Education, Education Funding, Minneapolis Public Schools, News, Stimulating Stimuli

Thursday’s Schools Roundup — Education Budget Battles / Ban Candy Cigarettes / Lakeville Magnets

 

Flickr/ingirogio

Happy Thursday?  Mostly budget news today: 

 

• “Budget work is starting in earnest,” says MPR as the state Senate and House square off over their respective education budgets.  The Senate leadership fully pulled the wraps off its proposal yesterday, with a net cut of around 3% — 7% cut across the board, with a little over 3% restored by federal stimulus money.  The House leadership isn’t too happy. (MPR/St Paul Legal Ledger)
• MTN has video of one of the Minneapolis schools forums on how the district might restructure opperations to close their budget deficit. (MTN, via TC Daily Planet)
• St Paul teens organize and advocate to end the sale of candy cigarettes in the city.
• Lastly, I forgot to include this development in yesterday’s item about suburban segregation.  Plans are moving ahead in Lakeville to establish magnet programs that would draw minority students from around Lakeville and from neighboring districts to create more integrated schools.

Today’s recipe: My obsessoin with kale continues: Kale, Butternut Squash, and Pancetta Pie!

Filed under: Minneapolis, Minnesota, National, St Paul, Achievement Gap, Arne Duncan, Education, Education Funding, Minneapolis Public Schools, Minnesota, News, Restructuring, Segregation, St Paul, Stimulating Stimuli

Wednesday’s Schools Roundup — Minorities in Suburbia / Budget Woes / Finally, Stimulus News!

Last month’s fight around the West Metro Education Program centered around issues of segregation in suburban districts.  Now the Pew Hispanic Center has a report out, giving a national overview of the increase in the suburbs’ minority population.  However, the researchers note that most minority students attend schools that are majority non-white — like cities, the suburbs are segregating.  Unfortunately, the report doesn’t go into the economic demographics of the trend.

Filed under: Minneapolis, Minnesota, National, St Paul, Achievement Gap, Arne Duncan, Budget Crisis, Education, Education Funding, Minneapolis Public Schools, News, Segregation, St Paul Public Schools, Stimulating Stimuli