Week of April 30th – May 4
Governor Dayton Proposes Emergency School Aid
On Tuesday this week, Governor Dayton called for emergency school aid as many Minnesota school districts are facing budget shortfalls. Without aid, hundreds of educators and staff will be laid off at the end of the school year. I was honored that Governor Dayton asked me to speak at the press conference announcing his proposal, and you can view those comments by clicking HERE.
I even got a good laugh out of the governor during my speech.
Education Policy Bill Hits the Senate Floor
The Senate took up the E-12 Education Policy Bill this week, and I am proud of the bipartisan work that we did on the senate floor.
This included the removal of an incredibly harmful provision that would give schools and school districts a star-rating ranging from one through five.This legislation had two major problems. The first was that it was overly simplistic, using test scores as a central criteria while ignoring things like student-counselor ratios and after-school programs. The other problem was that the factors used, like testing growth and testing proficiency, were equally weighted. It was thus nearly impossible for a school to achieve a five-star rating. Schools like Eden Prairie High School and Minnetonka High School would be unable to achieve a five star rating since they already show high proficiency and low room for growth. In the end, Democrats and Republicans came together to see this language removed from the bill.
During floor debate I also offered an amendment which would require a course in American Government for all Minnesota high school students. While it was ultimately not included in the bill, the House version does have this language. I will fight hard for this provision as we head into conference committee. You can watch me speak to this amendment by clicking HERE.
Constituents and Students at the Capitol
Wednesday this week was Water Action Day, and I met with six constituents advocating for preserving our state’s clean water. Four of them are students at Eden Prairie High School. It was great to see young people fighting to preserve their future.
Two of the big issues we discussed were nitrogen and sulfate pollution. There are two bills being pushed to rollback environmental protections on these two items, and I let them know that they can count on my opposition.
Early in the week, I ran into some high school pages while I was walking through the capitol. It was great to hear about how they are enjoying the experience.
I also got to attend the Mental Health Mind Matters exhibit opening at the Science Museum of Minnesota this week. It was an incredibly insightful experience and I learned a lot about how we as legislators can improve the mental health of our constituents. While I was there I ran into Amy Nelson, a former student of mine who is now the museum’s Director of Individual Giving.
May 12 Town Hall is Coming Up
Join me and Representative Laurie Pryor on May 12th from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at the Eden Prairie Library for an end-of-session town hall forum. We are excited to see you all there and answer your questions!