WhatsThePlanTom.com
— At last night’s gubernatorial debate, Tom Emmer reluctantly admitted
that his plans to cut billions of dollars from the state budget would
“absolutely” be painful to Minnesotans. “That includes $317 million
less in higher education. Is that painful? Yes. […] I’ll tell you
every one of these things is going to be painful — everything we’ve
proposed.” (47:20)
First to feel the pain in Tom Emmer’s Minnesota? Students.
Tom Emmer said in July that the state’s
education funding system has to be “attacked with a vengeance” and his
recently released budget plan does just that. Emmer’s plan not only
delays repaying our state’s schools until 2014, leaving schools to
borrow money to survive, but also slashes $2 billion from K-12 education
and $400 million from higher education.
Tom Emmer has a history of underfunding education, voting against
both higher education and K-12 funding bills, when he bothers to show up
at all.
Emmer’s plan goes even further, jeopardizing our high quality
education with reckless cuts that will force our schools to cut services
or borrow money.
Minnesotans want a governor who will
stand up for our children — and protect the services we rely on most,
like education and health care. And that’s just not Tom Emmer.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s fun fact about Tom Emmer’s disastrous budget proposals! Find out more at www.WhatsThePlanTom.com.
Emmer Voted Against Aid to Schools
On
April 18, 2007, Emmer voted against HF 6, the K-12 funding bill, which passed
the House with a huge bipartisan majority of 119-13. On May 8, 2007, Emmer again voted
against the bill as it was repassed
on a similar 119-14 vote.
The bill appropriated an additional $16 million to schools and granted
schools an additional one-time increase of $51 per student. [Minnesota House of Representatives,
HF 6 2007, House Journal 3997, 12113]
Overall,
adjusted for population growth and inflation, education funding has decreased
by over $1,300 per pupil since Tim Pawlenty became governor. [MinnPost, 4/19/2010]
Emmer Missed Key Votes on Education
On May 11, 2010, Emmer skipped all six
votes on amendments to the K-12 policy and finance bill, as well as
the vote on final passage. The bill created a scholarship for
students that graduate early, created a foothold for broader alternative
licensure programs, creates a regular evaluation process for
teachers, cuts $737,000 from the state education department without
making school cuts, and allows local governments to renew expiring
school levies without going back to voters. [Minnesota House of
Representatives, HF 3833, House Journal 12427, 12429, 12462, 12465, 12467, 12469, 12470]
