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Dear Neighbors,

Many of you have written to me with concerns about the budget cuts facing Minneapolis schools. Thank you for your advocacy, and as a MPS alum, former educator, and future MPS parent, I agree wholeheartedly. Schools in Minneapolis face unique struggles and I am heartbroken to hear about the proposed cuts that directly impact beloved and necessary programs, services, and staff at our schools. I have fought to address these shortfalls and will continue to do so.

Minneapolis Public Schools have faced challenging budgets for a long time. This is not entirely unique to MPS, as schools statewide experienced years of diminished spending power due to changes made under Governor Pawlenty. Certain federal requirements for students who are less proficient in English (English Language Learners, or ELL) and those who need Special Education plans also impact schools unequally across the state. The population density and diversity in Minneapolis mean these essential programs have higher costs here than elsewhere in the state. The federal government provides aid for these programs, but not enough to fund them in their entirety.

With the 2023 Education budget, HF 2497 [ [link removed] ], DFLers closed a lot of these gaps. This bill funded nearly half of the Special Education shortfall, indexed the education funding formula to inflation, and will eliminate the funding shortfall for ELL programs entirely (a measure I co-authored on behalf of our district). Certain issues remain ? the end of COVID-19 emergency funding has led to MPS closing programs, declining student attendance has led to reduced school revenues, and ongoing contract negotiations mean that MPS budgets remain unclear.

Budgets in Minnesota are set on a biennial basis, as with the 2023 budget bill, and the Education funding formula aims to be equitable across districts to ensure that schools get the support they need without regard to politics. This session, DFLer Matt Norris introduced HF 3544 [ [link removed] ] to increase the formula statewide, and I have signed on as a co-author. I have also authored HF 4912 [ [link removed] ] which would provide one-time attendance aid to school districts to address the chronic absenteeism we are seeing within Minneapolis and across the state. I was proud to have our new MPS Superintendent Dr. Sayles-Adams come to the Capitol to testify in support of the bill.?

SM

With little supplementary money available in 2024, these bills will face challenges. This week, budget targets for committees were announced and the education finance committee has less than $50 million in one-time funding to spend on districts across the state. I wish this amount were larger and I believe we should be investing more in education given the great need and state surplus. I encourage you to contact Governor Walz and advocate for additional funding for education.

Looking forward to the future, I am working closely with MPS leadership and other legislators on bold proposals that could make significant changes to our education finance system, and I hope we can pass these bills in future sessions. These include changes to special education billing, our open enrollment system, funding teacher pay, and advocating for raising revenue for education.

Finally, there is the potential for some positive changes to MPS funding. An influx of new students from other countries is helping to allay the problem of declining attendance, which has been the biggest driver on MPS? financial issues. Minnesota schools measure attendance with daily averages, which means that even those students are accounted for promptly and our schools receive revenue to educate them. While many of these students will require additional aid in learning English, our work in 2023 means that cost will be covered at the state level.

I hope this information is helpful. I look forward to continuing to advocate with you to ensure MPS students get the education they deserve.

Fighting for Environmental Justice

For years, South Minneapolis residents have been talking about the pollution that comes from the Smith Foundry site. Following an Environmental Protection Agency investigation in May 2023, the EPA found Smith Foundry violated the Clean Air Act nine ways between 2018 and 2023, regularly emitting nearly twice the amount of air pollution allowed by state permits and failing to notify the state about equipment failures as required.

The foundry is a source of airborne lead and particulate matter, lending to East Phillips being considered an environmental justice neighborhood - where 75 percent of residents are people of color and has some of the worst health outcomes in Minnesota.

Our neighbors have been asking the legislature to do something about this for years. Earlier this month I introduced my legislation to authorize amortization ? the phasing out of a non-conforming use in local zoning ? for production, processing, and industrial uses. Currently, amortization is only authorized for adult-only entertainment. This bill would ensure our cities have more tools to regulate industrial businesses that are not compatible with residential neighborhoods.

You can hear my remarks from committee here [ [link removed] ].

Expanding Access to Affordable, High-Quality Health Care

MNCARE

All Minnesotans deserve to live healthy lives with economic security, and DFLers at the Capitol are committed to expanding access to affordable, quality health care. Unfortunately, too many Minnesotans currently can?t afford health insurance or have health insurance they can?t afford to use. Working families without employer-based insurance often face outrageous premiums and other out-of-pocket costs. For instance, many plans on the individual market have annual deductibles of $7,000 or higher. This puts Minnesotans in an impossible predicament, which leads to people avoiding care and results in poor health outcomes ? sometimes with tragic consequences.

One plan to solve this problem impacting middle-class Minnesotans is *the MinnesotaCare Public Option.* It would allow all Minnesotans to access comprehensive health insurance coverage ? with vision, dental, and more ? with low out-of-pocket costs and a large network of quality medical providers. People enrolled in the Public Option would pay their own premiums ? with significantly lower prices than what?s available currently on the individual market ? determined on a sliding scale based on income.

MinnesotaCare has been a nation-leading, highly successful, and trusted health insurance program serving low-income working Minnesotans for over 30 years. The bill [ [link removed] ], which I am a co-author of, creates a MinnesotaCare Public Option ? which would expand affordable health insurance to thousands of more Minnesotans ? is advancing through the committee process in the House and I will advocate for its passage this session.

Keep in Touch

Please continue to reach out anytime if you need assistance or have questions at [email protected] or 651-297-7087. You can also follow my Facebook page [ [link removed] ].?

In community,

Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura

Minnesota House of Representatives?






Representative Samantha Sencer-Mura

417 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155

Phone: 651-296-0173
Email:[email protected] "(replies to this newsletter are not monitored)"
Website: www.house.mn.gov/63A [ [link removed] ]
Legislative Assistant: Declan McGuire, 651-297-7087







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