Minnesota House Democrats call for $1.15B more for education

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota House Democratic majority on Monday proposed spending $1.15 billion of the state's $9.25 billion budget surplus on education, drawing a sharp contrast with Republicans who control the Senate and who want to cut taxes by $3.4 billion while spending just $30 million more on schools.

“With a historic budget surplus, we need to deliver for Minnesota students,” House Speaker Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, said at a news conference.

The big spending and policy bills of the 2022 legislative session are starting to come together and the deep philosophical differences between Democrats and Republicans over how to use the massive surplus portend difficult negotiations before the session is due to adjourn May 23.

The catch-all House Democratic education package would focus on mental health support for students, such as counselors and social workers, as well as special education services and English language learners.

Because of that emphasis, their package does not include the 2% increase in general per-pupil funding in the current budget that Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has proposed, said the chairman of the House Education Finance Committee, Rep. Jim Davnie, of Minneapolis.

The House Democratic plan also includes a voluntary statewide pre-kindergarten program that Democrats have long sought. And it includes $2.12 billion in new education spending for the next two-year budget, which would require approval by the 2023 Legislature.

GOP Sen. Roger Chamberlain of Lino Lakes, who chairs his chamber's education committee, criticized the Democratic plan, saying schools have already received more than $1 billion in new state funding under the two-year budget adopted last year and $2.6 billion in federal COVID-19 relief. The centerpiece of the...