FAIRMONT - Local legislators Julie Rosen and Bob Gunther met with officials from several area schools Wednesday to hear what is ailing rural Minnesota districts.
Rep. Gunther and Sen. Rosen, both Repub-licans, gave a brief update on what is happening at the state level, including a discussion of Tuesday's announcement that the state will borrow money from nearly 200 districts this spring by withholding aid payments in March, April and May.
Superintendent Butch Hanson said the amount held back from Fairmont Area will be near $1.6 million. Granada-Huntley-East Chain and Martin County West Superintendent Randy Grupe said his districts will see an amount closer to $1.1 million withheld.
"The announcement this week from the governor is from a 1986 law," Rosen said. "We only have $350 million in the reserve, so we aren't going to make it. ... The law says before the state can borrow we have to go to the school districts."
She believes the law should be changed, but at this point there is nothing that can be done.
Gunther asked the group - comprised of representatives from Martin County West, Granada-Huntley-East Chain, Fairmont Area, Blue Earth Area and Truman - what laws or rules they would like the Legislature to relax to help districts.
The top contenders involved:
o A continuation of a policy freeing up staff development dollars for other uses. The state normally requires districts to set aside 2 percent of its budget for staff development;
o A discontinuation of the maintenance-of-effort requirement. It states districts must spend a specified amount of money on certain populations, no matter what the results;
o The ability to transfer money from the operating fund into the general fund;
o Short-term levy authority
School districts, unlike cities and counties, do not have general authority to increase property taxes without a referendum. This doesn't always allow districts to get the funds they need.
While Gunther and Rosen did not make any promises on these issues, Gunther did ask attendees repeatedly to make a list of state mandates they believe should be loosened, saying he would do his best to get the changes passed.
Rosen also indicated she would like to see fewer restrictions on districts.
"I believe we have to loosen up the strings on you guys a little bit," she said.
That said, Rosen warned the school officials that things might not get a lot better this year for schools.
"You have some very tough decisions ahead of you," she said, "and the same for us in the Legislature. ... I think it is going to be tough on education this year, I really do. We have some very tough votes that are going to need to be taken to relieve some of the pressure."