[Speed Gibson,
Monday March 24, 2008 at 10:34pm]
Education Funding: Priorities
Via Eckernet, the House GOP has a rather damning recap of the pork being proposed by the DFL, 85 items totaling $455 million, all but one to be part of the 2008 bonding bill. Let's not forget that the gas tax was raised to move needed transportation spending out of said bonding bill to make room for this unnecessary spending.
Just what are the DFL spending priorities this term? Number one would appear to be pork. Otherwise, Prime Minister Pawlenty's proposals were sufficient. But since it was passed first, even before the revised deficit forecast, isn't transportation second? Not exactly. Light rail is number two. Roads themselves are way down the list judging by the continued use of the long obsolete and ineffective requirement allocating most of the money outstate.
Blowback from proposed cuts in the mammoth $11 billion Health and Human Services bill passed last session makes it clear that HHS is probably third. Where is education, specifically K-12 education? By my reckoning, no better than fourth. Look at the strange end to the 2007 session, where Special Ed got most of the money, which, gosh, disproportionately helped the struggling Minneapolis and St. Paul systems. And Senate Majority Leader Pogemiller's district is where? And House Speaker Kelliher's district is where?
Fourth. Our public schools are at best fourth, behind pork, light rail, and health care for the able-bodied. To be continued ...
Just what are the DFL spending priorities this term? Number one would appear to be pork. Otherwise, Prime Minister Pawlenty's proposals were sufficient. But since it was passed first, even before the revised deficit forecast, isn't transportation second? Not exactly. Light rail is number two. Roads themselves are way down the list judging by the continued use of the long obsolete and ineffective requirement allocating most of the money outstate.
Blowback from proposed cuts in the mammoth $11 billion Health and Human Services bill passed last session makes it clear that HHS is probably third. Where is education, specifically K-12 education? By my reckoning, no better than fourth. Look at the strange end to the 2007 session, where Special Ed got most of the money, which, gosh, disproportionately helped the struggling Minneapolis and St. Paul systems. And Senate Majority Leader Pogemiller's district is where? And House Speaker Kelliher's district is where?
Fourth. Our public schools are at best fourth, behind pork, light rail, and health care for the able-bodied. To be continued ...