Governor and President release budgets; Veterans centers discussed; Students talk tuition; New paths to teaching debated; U.S. Congress budget talk

Legislative Update
February 18, 2011

Governor proposes 6 percent cut to higher education

The big news at the Capitol this week was the release of Gov. Dayton’s budget proposal. “A budget is about values and priorities as well as about dollars and sense,” Dayton said. In outlining his proposal, Dayton said the budget raises taxes on the wealthiest 5.5 percent of Minnesota taxpayers, increases funding for K-12 education and protects state aid to cities, counties and townships to preserve services like police and fire.

While Dayton resolves the $6.2 billion budget deficit with mostly tax increases for the wealthiest 5 percent of Minnesotans, he does make almost $1 billion in permanent expenditure reductions, with an offset of new spending for a net reduction of $485 million. Dayton's reductions include a 6 percent cut to both the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and the University of Minnesota. A 6 percent reduction to the system equates to $37.8 million a year, which reduces the system's base to $592.6 million for each year of the biennium.

Director of the Office of Higher Education, Sheila Wright, said the governor will protect the state grant program. Mark Misukanis, also with the Office of Higher Education, explained that the governor did not reduce the state grant program because projections indicate a need to ration grants to serve the increasing numbers of students. The state work study program however is being reduced 33 percent, which means approximately 3,500 fewer students will be employed on state work study funds. Dayton's budget proposal also eliminates the Achieve Scholarship program.

Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter said the state is unable to repay the K-12 shift this biennium, but will begin buying back the shift at 10 percent a year starting in 2014. As for K-12 education, Dayton pledges to increase funding $52 million, with $33 million of it dedicated to all-day kindergarten. Also included in Dayton's budget plan is a 6 percent reduction in the state workforce. Schowalter said 800 state workers would lose their jobs, through resignations, retirement and layoffs.

Schowlater said in preparing the budget, the administration was looking for a balance, including spending reductions and revenue increases. Gov. Dayton said the Legislature will now have the opportunity to present their plan as they work towards an agreement. The governor said there is plenty of time to resolve differences with the Legislature, and a government shutdown is not an option.

In response to the governor’s proposed budget, Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, R-Buffalo, said the governor's tax increases are not going to be approved by the Legislature, but she did say there is plenty of time to find a compromise. Koch said legislative leadership is working on a $32 billion budget. When asked by the media if lawmaker can do an “all-cuts budget” without cutting K-12 or health care for the elderly, Koch said they are looking at all areas and setting priorities. House Majority Leader Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, said, “We’re trying as hard as we can to get as much information as we can from the agencies. You’ll see a lot more detail and information from agencies in the committee process.”

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system has been asked to respond to Gov. Dayton’s proposed budget on Thursday in the House Higher Education committee, and provide a detailed discussion of the system’s finances.

Bill proposes to save veteran centers on campus

HF384, a bill sponsored by Rep. Bob Dettmer, R-Forest Lake, that repeals the sunset on campus veteran centers, allowing veteran services to remain on higher education campuses, was heard earlier this week in the House Veterans Services Division.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has had representatives on college and university campuses to help veterans returning to school since 2006. However, the Veterans Higher Education Assistance Program is set to expire on June 30, 2012 unless the sunset is repealed. Dettmer said Veterans Affairs will need to find $1.5 million in its budget for the program in the next fiscal year.

Donald Pfeffer, the Veterans Affairs director of higher education veterans programs, told committee members the program has grown to more than 60 service centers on both public and private campuses. He said that today, there are more than 12,000 residents eligible for veterans’ benefits and last year, 7,000 new veterans sought help.

“This is something I want to give our young veterans,” said Bill Johnson, a Vietnam veteran, who is a student and veterans staff person at Hennepin Technical College. Johnson said the G.I. bill gave him a chance at the American dream, and he wants others to have that chance. A Minnesota veteran and student at Dakota County Technical College, Jason Johnson, said if a veterans assistant staffer had not been available to help him, he would not be in college right now.

The bill was approved and sent to the State Government Finance committee where it will be heard Wednesday. There is no Senate companion bill at this time.

College and university students bring tuition message to Capitol

College and university students spent a day at the Capitol this week educating lawmakers about student issues, including tuition. Students packed a Senate hearing room to speak to a bill that would freeze tuition for the 2012-2013 biennium. The author of the bill, Sen. John Carlson, R-Bemidji, explained the bill by saying the state cannot continue to balance the budget on the backs of students. Carlson explained that SF 268 addresses the short-term impact of tuition increases and provides guidance for Minnesota families to plan for college.

Minnesota State University Student Association Chair Andrew Spaeth told committee members that in 1980, the state funded 80 percent of higher education costs, and today that number is around 50 percent. Spaeth said he's concerned with the debt load of students with the average student graduating with $26,000 in debt.

Travis Johnson, President of the Minnesota State College Student Association, or MSCSA, said he is concerned about the pattern of rapidly increasing tuition rates. Geoff Dittberner, Vice President of MSCSA said in 2003 when the system's budget was reduced by $191 million, the cut was made up in tuition increases which still have a negative consequence on students today. Dittberner said students are willing to be part of the solution, but not the entire solution. He said students believe the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees is sincere in their desire to keep tuition low. Dittberner said while they cannot fully support a tuition freeze as the bill proposes, they would like to work with the committee to impose a tuition cap.

Russ Stanton with the Inter Faculty Association, or IFO, also spoke to the tuition freeze bill and said the IFO has always been an advocate of low tuition and affordable higher education, but state funding has not kept up with enrollment growth or inflation. He said the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system is highly efficient and the cost of delivering instruction is among the lowest in the nation. Stanton said the IFO opposes setting tuition rates in the political arena, but would rather leave the Board of Trustees with the flexibility to make tuition decisions.

The bill was laid over for possible consideration in the omnibus bill. There is no companion bill in the House. You may review the bill here.

All parties work toward compromise for alternative teacher licensing

Gov. Mark Dayton and his education commissioner, Brenda Cassellius, have been working with lawmakers to reach an agreement on alternative teacher licensing legislation that is moving through the Legislature. On Thursday, Dayton released a letter to Sen. Gen Olson, R-Minnetrista, the bill’s sponsor, indicating the bill does not do enough to guarantee that teachers licensed under the proposal would have enough grounding in the subjects they will teach. He also says it is “regrettable that this bill does not better define a connection to higher education as a partnership,” and that it is “essential that non-profit groups partner with colleges of education to ensure integrity of the licenses issued upon the completion of the programs and a consistent, reliable standard of preparedness among teacher candidates.” Dayton said his administration and the Republican Legislature are close to reaching a compromise. “We would rather have a bill that is signed,” Olson said.

U.S. House debates spending bill to finance federal government for remainder of fiscal year

The U.S. House of Representatives has been debating legislation this week that sets spending for the remainder of the current 2011 fiscal year and cuts $100 billion from President Obama’s budget proposal. According to the Committee on Appropriations, this legislation represents the largest single discretionary spending reduction in the history of Congress. The current continuing resolution Congress is operating under is set to expire March 4, so lawmakers are working under a deadline. The Senate is expected to take up the bill the week of Feb. 28, and one can expect the Democratic controlled Senate to oppose many of the proposed cuts in the bill.

Students are affected greatly by the House proposal with cuts to the Pell Grant program. The bill would cut the maximum grant award by $845 from $5,550 to $4,705. The bill also zeroes-out all campus-based federal aid, except for the Federal Work-Study Program; eliminates all funds for the Teacher Quality Partnership Grants; reduces TRIO funding by $25 million and GEAR-UP funding by $20 million. You may find more information on the legislation here.

President Obama releases fiscal year 2012 budget plan

President Obama released his fiscal year 2012 budget this week, which can be found here. His plan would keep the maximum college financial aid award at $5,550. However, to do this, a cut in other areas of the Pell Grant would have to be realized. Obama’s proposal would end the "year-round Pell" policy that let students collect two grants in a calendar year, with the second grant used for summer school. The second proposal would reduce loan subsidies for graduate and professional students.

Obama’s budget also calls for a restructuring of funding for teacher preparation programs, by eliminating the current TEACH Grant program, and replacing it with the Presidential Teaching Fellows program, or PTF. His proposal requests $185 million for the PTF program for grants to states that upgrade licensure and certification requirements, hold the least effective teacher preparation programs accountable, and provide recognition to effective classroom teachers.

Other areas of the president’s budget as it relates to higher education include a $67 million increase for TRIO programs, specifically targeted to the Upward Bound program. The GEAR-UP program is level funded at $323 million in the proposed budget, and Obama is proposing a new program called College Completion Incentive Grants at $50 million. States would compete for these funds as they pursue methods for increasing college completion, and states would be required to set benchmarks for attainment.

Key higher education themes from this year’s State of the State addresses around the country

The Association of State Colleges and Universities, or AASCU, has compiled a summary of key higher education themes and policy proposals included in governors' state of the state addresses to date. You may view the full analysis, including a state-by-state summary of gubernatorial higher education priorities, at the below link.
AASCU Report: 2011 State of the State Addresses and Higher Education.


Here's What's Happening at the Capitol:

This schedule shows all meetings that we are aware of at the time of publication that MAY have an impact on the system. This schedule may change. Please watch the House and Senate schedules posted on the Legislature's web site.

Monday, February 21

10:15 AM
House Ways and Means
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Mary Liz Holberg
Agenda: Presentation of Gov. Dayton's Budget - Commissioner Jim Schowalter, Minnesota Management & Budget
HF103 (Murray) Unemployment insurance eligibility and extension provisions modified.

11:00 AM
Senate in Session

4:00 PM
House in Session

4:15 PM
Joint Convention of the House and Senate
Agenda: Elect regents to the University of Minnesota Board of Regents

Tuesday, February 22

8:15 AM
House Education Reform
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Sondra Erickson
Agenda: HF511 (Erickson) Public school unneeded mandates removed.

10:30 AM
Senate Jobs and Economic Growth
Room: 107 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Geoff Michel
Agenda:
Overview from Dr. David Crowe, Chief Economist at the National Association of Home Builders
S.F. 283-Howe: Minnesota business investment company credit establishment and appropriation.

12:30 PM
House Higher Education Policy and Finance
Room: Basement Hearing Room, State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Bud Nornes
Agenda: University of Minnesota:
Response to Gov. Dayton's proposed budget
Detailed discussion of organization and finances

12:30 PM
House Jobs and Economic Development Finance
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Bob Gunther
Agenda: Presentation of the Metro Business Plan from Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Doug Baker, CEO of Ecolab.
-Presentation and overview of the Minnesota Youth Program
-Presentation from Dr. David Crowe - National Assoc. of Home Builders

12:30 PM
House Education Finance
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Pat Garofalo
Agenda: Presentation of governor’s proposed budget
HF576 (Kelly) Aid shift extended.

3:00 PM
Senate Education
Room 15 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Gen Olson
Agenda: Governor's Budget-MN Department of Education Testimony


Wednesday, February 23

8:15 AM
House State Government Finance
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chairs: Rep. Morrie Lanning,
Agenda:
Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board (CAAPB)
Department of Military Affairs
HF384 (Dettmer) Campus veterans representative program sunset repealed.

8:30 AM
Senate Finance
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Claire A. Robling
Agenda:
Continuation of Presentation of Governor Dayton's Budget - Commissioner Jim Schowalter, Minnesota Management and Budget
Presentation of Fastest Growing Expenditures Report - Minnesota Management and Budget

2:30 PM
House Capital Investment
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Larry Howes
Agenda: HF607 (Howes) Capital improvement funding provided to acquire and better public land and buildings and for other improvements of a capital nature, nonprofit housing bond authorization changes made, bonds issued, appropriations modified, and money appropriated.
Testifying: Minnesota Management and Budget

3:00 PM
Senate Education
Room: 15 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Gen Olson
Agenda: Governor's Budget-MN Department of Education Testimony

Thursday, February 24

8:15 AM
House Education Reform
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Sondra Erickson
Agenda: HF269 (Downey) Teacher contract qualified economic offer provided.

10:15 AM
House Government Operations and Elections
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Joyce Peppin
Agenda: HF191 (Downey) Redundant Technology Elimination Act proposed, state agency information technology systems and services consolidated, Office of Enterprise Technology duties transferred, and money appropriated.
HF297 (Kahn) State agency information technology system and service consolidated, and duties transferred to the Office of Enterprise Technology.

11:00 AM
Senate in Session

12:30 PM
House Higher Education Policy and Finance
Room: Basement Hearing Room, State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Bud Nornes
Agenda: Minnesota State Colleges and Universities:
Response to Gov. Dayton's proposed budget
Detailed discussion of organization and finances

12:30 PM
House Education Finance
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Pat Garofalo
Agenda:
Presentation on the collective bargaining process from Education Minnesota and Minnesota School Boards Association