To the Editor,

There’s no way around it – our state is facing a $6 billion deficit and it’s something we have to contend with sooner rather than later. This deficit is a clear signal that we need to get our budget and priorities in check. Unfortunately, when it comes to the education area of the budget, Democrats have put forward a plan that I want folks to know a bit more about. 

As of right now, the Senate Democrats’ budget has a “zero” target for education this biennium, with plans to cut funding in the next biennium. For 2024-25, total education funding from the state was $24.5 billion—already a huge part of our state’s budget. Even with a “zero” target, the 2026-27 education budget will grow by 4.8 percent up to $25.7 billion, and will grow by an additional 4.1 percent in 2028-29, totaling $26.8 billion. 

Though Democrats have touted these increases as a “historic investment” in schools, the fact of the matter is that much of the funding came with strings attached to specific programs and mandates. Over the past two years, an additional 80+ unfunded mandates were also passed down to our schools—that “historic” funding was eaten up very quickly as districts struggled to comply with all the new burdensome requirements. As a result, schools across the state are now seeing their budgets drop into the red. Schools have been forced to consider layoffs, increased tax levies, program cuts, and more. It’s alarming that the Democrats’ budget target for this upcoming biennium does nothing to address these concerns that we’ve been hearing about since 2023. 

I’d also like to note that even though Democrats’ target is “zero,” there are still cuts in the Democrats’ proposal this year, but not where you’d expect them to be. Their current proposal eliminates funding for non-public education. That means they are cutting funding for things like transportation, textbooks, counseling and health services. You know who doesn’t see a cut? The Department of Education. In fact for 2026-27, MDE is getting a $2 million increase for operations, and their legal budget is also getting an increase to the tune of $6 million. This is just ridiculous. We know cuts need to be made, but we should look at these bloated agencies, not cutting services our kids and families rely on. 

This proposal does not even attempt to address the concerns that schools throughout the state have brought to us. That’s why Senate Republicans have maintained the stance that we must put students first in education. The policies of the last few years have done the opposite, and we need to get kids back on track. We want schools to have the flexibility to use funding where their districts need it the most. We also want districts to be able to waive some of these new burdensome mandates if they neither address the school’s needs nor align with their local priorities. It’s really simple—eliminate the mandates, and let our schools get back to teaching students.  

The fact of the matter is that the Democrats’ education proposal is just not feasible. It puts the agency’s needs over students, and it fails to address concerns regarding the mandates. Some students have unique needs that cannot be met in public schools, and they should not be penalized for that. Democrats are unwilling to listen to the concerns of students, families, and school districts, and their harmful proposal makes that very clear. Our students deserve better than what this proposal offers. 

Sen. Paul Utke,

Park Rapids, Minn.