Walz increased education funding by $2.2 billion, but new state mandates are eating up half the money, reports Beth Hawkins on The 74. “District leaders statewide are scrambling to explain to their communities that, in fact, they are facing massive cuts.” Enrollment is declining. “In many places, balancing the budget will mean layoffs or school closures.”
There are “as many as 65 new mandates, ranging from free meals for all students to menstrual products in school restrooms,” she writes. The bill has added costly benefits for seasonal workers — such as unemployment insurance for substitutes.
School districts must divert some of the “new” money to make up shortfalls in other funding, such as “$750 million just to fill the special education funding gap,” writes Hawkins.