School officials share concerns with legislators

School superintendents from southeast Minnesota met local legislators in Kasson last week to tell their concerns and answer questions. Topics included school finance, local decision making, and funding equality.

If there was one thing that both sides seemed to agree on, it was that local school districts are best suited to make decisions for their communities.

The Southeast Service Cooperative in Rochester, Minnesota School Boards Association Region 1, and the Kasson-Mantorville School District co-hosted the event with K-M Superintendent Mark Matuska serving as moderator.

For three hours Friday morning the legislators listened as school superintendents talked about the effect of inflation on their districts, unfunded mandates, and difficulties in finding sufficient numbers of teachers and staff.

School districts depend on state funding, Northfield Superintendent Matt Hillman reminded legislators. State monies provide 70% of a school district’s funds, he said. Schools have been talking about inflation for the past 30 years, he said, but the “basic formula is not keeping up with inflation.”

Beyond adjusting for inflation, Hillman said, schools are asking legislators to limit unfunded mandates.

Every mandate increases the costs, both in money and in staff time.

If the funding formula had kept up with the consumer price index, he said, every district would get $1,605 more per student than they are now getting.

Rochester Superintendent Ken Pekel added that inflation needs to be considered when setting the formula so the districts can build inflation into their budgets. He compared the situation to the Pentagon being told that their responsibility was to protect the country, but they couldn’t consider inflation when preparing their budgets. The Pentagon, he said, would say that was undermining their mission and impossible.

The issue of mandates also was a concern of the superintendents not only because of the costs involved, but also because of who is making decisions about schools. What may work in the Twin Cities, superintendents said, may not be what is needed in Greater Minnesota.

Local school boards understand their communities, said Owatonna Superintendent Jeff Elstad, adding they know best what their district needs.

Owatonna is in the process of constructing a new high school, Elstad said, and is designing a curriculum that will meet the needs of the community. Mandates, he said, sometimes do not align with what the district wants to do to meet local needs.

Among the local legislators attending the forum were Rep. Patricia Mueller, District 23B, Sen. Gene Dornink, District 23 and Rep. John Petersburg, District 19B.