Educators Get Differing Ideas From Dayton, Johnson
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton pledged Friday to carry on his "no excuses, no exceptions" promise to boost public school funding each year if re-elected this fall. His Republican challenger Jeff Johnson told school leaders they can expect more flexibility with state dollars if he wins.
In back-to-back speeches to the Association of Metropolitan School Districts, Dayton and Johnson offered differing visions of where they'd take state education policy. It's a topic dominating television commercials in the race that now a month from the finish.
Dayton said he's proven that public school advocates have "had more of an ally than an antagonist" the last four years, which saw the state pick up the full tab for all-day kindergarten and increase per-pupil allowances.
He told the group he would put a second-term emphasis on better aligning Minnesota's junior high and high school course offerings with the workforce needs of employers. He said that means rebuilding vocational offerings scaled back in lean years to put the next generation of welders and mechanics on the right path, and promoting engineering tracks that can eventually lead to lucrative technology careers.
Dayton said he's bothered by Minnesota's standing as having among the fewest school guidance counselors per student.
"We need people who are not only trained in emotional and social guidance but also career guidance," Dayton said.
In his turn before the dozens of administrators and school board members, Johnson worked to rebut an attack ad narrative that he voted to slash school spending as a legislator. Johnson, now a Hennepin County commissioner, did vote to curb the growth in state spending on schools to help close a budget deficit, but he stresses that aid to schools didn't decline from year to year. A report prepared by House fiscal analysts shows total state aid to schools dipped slightly in 2004 and again in 2005, but per-pupil spending rose slightly in both years.
Johnson said the state should attach fewer strings to its aid money. He described the move to expand all-day kindergarten offerings in exchange for increased allowances as a top-down directive. While Johnson said he supported the end goal, he said local school leaders should have had more of a choice of where the money went.
"Generally you guys are going to make better decisions about what's good for your community and what's good for your kids than what the state will, what the Legislature will or what the governor will," he said.
One administrator pressed Johnson for his stance on school vouchers, which enable children to attend private or parochial schools at public expense. Johnson said he would back tax credits that foster school choice as a way to minimize court challenges, but added that "it is probably not the direction we're going to be going anytime in the near future in Minnesota."
Asked by reporters after his remarks if he would match Dayton's school-funding pledge, Johnson declined.
"I won't make that specific promise, but I would be shocked if we don't increase education funding every biennium because that's just what we do in Minnesota," he said. "It's probably the most-valued thing amongst the citizens of Minnesota."
(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
