Classroom Spending
Minnesota's education funding formula is broken. Everyone knows that the formula treats our area unfairly. Unfortunately, last session's education bill made the formula even worse. Minneapolis and St. Paul schools received anywhere from a 60% to a 150% bigger increase in funding, per student, than our local schools. Sadly, the legislature's decision to reduce debt service payments forced an over $1 million dollar property tax increase on Farmington school district residents.
Representative Garofalo supports reforming the education funding formula so schools in our area are treated fairly. It is not right that schools in Minneapolis have the money to pay for a lease on a Cadillac Escalade, while our schools are struggling to buy books and pay teacher salaries. A child deserves the same learning opportunities regardless of where the live.
In addition, Representative Garofalo supports local control of our schools and has worked to allow Minnesota to opt out of the No Child Left Behind mandate. Minnesotans do have a great track record with education. We don't need Washington, D.C. bureaucrats telling us how to run our schools. Representative Garofalo will work to keep schools under the control of local parents and teachers, not federal politicians.
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