It's Time For Equity in Education Funding

The start of a new school year is right around the corner, which means it is time to start getting our kids ready with new clothes, shoes, and a litany of supplies. Soon we will be in full "school mode.” As we prepare to send our children back to class the time is right to talk about the disparity in state education funding.  Did you know that the state legislature every year allocates vastly more money per pupil to Minneapolis and St. Paul schools than Northfield schools? The difference in the amounts is in the thousands of dollars.

State aid to Northfield schools next year is scheduled to be around $9,700 per pupil, whereas state aid to St. Paul schools will be more than $12,000 per pupil.  In Minneapolis schools are slated to receive over $14,000 per pupil - that's a difference of over $4,000 per student!

Northfield has an outstanding education system and we need to ensure that our students get their fair share when it comes to education funding. The extreme inequality in funding needs to be addressed; our students are just as valuable as those in Minneapolis and St. Paul schools.

We need to fight for our students to make sure state funding is fairly distributed and that our kids are not getting short changed. As a father of two sons in public schools I know how important it is to invest in our children. It is time to level the playing field and make sure our schools are funded equally.