Legislature should help schools with facilities

Published Thursday, December 28, 2006

Those frustrated with inability to pass a school facilities referendum in Fergus Falls should take heart, we're not alone.

In November, of the 70 school referenda, 40 - a whopping 57 percent -- failed, the worst percentage since tracking began in 1980, according to the Minnesota School Boards Association.

It ought to send leaders of the Legislature, who convene in January with a substantial projected budget surplus, a clear message.

The bottom line is, Minnesotans seem unwilling to increase their own property taxes. And since referenda are the only means school districts have to obtain additional funding for operations and facilities, many districts are hurting for funds with nowhere to turn.

It seems the proper use of the surplus would be to create a fund for school districts to apply for - much like the Legislature does with its bonding bill. While the state has a financing program to help with new school facilities, clearly, it is not providing enough. The fund would be temporary, of course, and would not exist in times of budget deficit. But for at least a few years, it certainly would give the most desperate districts a fighting chance.

The Legislature has done enough in terms of passing the buck onto local units of government in recent years. A school facilities financing program seems like a good way to give something back, and help make Minnesota a leader in education again.