Proposal would provide universal pre-K, and freeze tuition at public colleges and universities

ST. PAUL, MN - Minnesotans depend on access to a great education for good jobs and bright futures. This year, Governor Mark Dayton's budget proposal would invest nearly a billion dollars in strategies to ensure all Minnesotans receive excellent, affordable educations. Lt. Governor Tina Smith today visited Moorhead's Probstfield Center for Education and Bemidji State University to highlight the proposed education investments from pre-Kindergarten to post-secondary.

 

 

If passed, Governor Dayton's proposal universal pre-Kindergarten initiative would allow an estimated 47,300 students to attend preschool in the program's first year of operation. Within just a few years, the Department of Education predicts that number would grow to roughly 57,000 four-year-olds statewide - giving every kid the great start they need to prepare for kindergarten, and succeed in school and life.

 

At Probstfield Center for Education this morning, Lt. Governor Smith spent time with preschool students, teachers, and district administrators, seeing firsthand the impact that high-quality early learning programs have in preparing young learners for success in school and life. Programs like Probstfield have been shown to a major impact on child development.

 

Studies have shown that early learning programs have impressive and long-lasting benefits for low-income students, including increased high school graduation and employment rates, and decreased incarceration rates. Leading researchers and economists have found that these outcomes yield long-term benefits of as much as $16 for every $1 invested in early learning programs. Most of those cost savings are in education, human services, and justice system savings, as well as increased tax revenues.

 

In the afternoon, Lt. Governor Smith held a roundtable discussion with Bemidji State University President Richard Hanson and members of the student senate regarding college affordability and accessibility. To help students at Bemidji State, and public colleges and universities across Minnesota, Governor Dayton has proposed a two-year extension of the tuition freeze first enacted in 2013. Under the Governor's proposal, a four-year MnSCU student would up to $205 a year - reducing their total cost by roughly $2,050 over four years. And a University of Minnesota student would save up to $730 a year - reducing their total cost by $2,500 over four years.

 

The Governor's budget proposal also would make a significant investment in the State Grant Program - allowing an additional 7,500 students to receive grants; recipients would receive an average increase of $352 with some getting up to $1,800 more.

 

During the last four years, the Governor and Legislature invested $895 million in preK-12 education. The Governor's supplemental budget proposal would again deliver on that promise, investing an additional $695 million in preK-12 education. It also would provide $288 million for initiatives that would improve our higher education system, and make it more affordable for Minnesota families. These bold new investments would help ensure every Minnesota student receives an excellent education.

 

Free, Full-Day PreK for Every Four-Year-Old - The Governor's budget would invest $343 million to provide every four-year-old (47,000 kids) access to free, full-day pre-kindergarten learning opportunities statewide.

 

More Funding for Every School - The Governor's budget would invest in K-12 schools statewide, increasing the per-pupil funding formula to $5,948 by 2017, and putting additional funding into the special education formula. These new resources would give local school districts the flexibility to meet the needs of their students and classrooms - from lowering class sizes, hiring new counselors, investing in technology, or providing other need programs and services.

 

Tackling the Achievement Gap - The Governor's proposal would invest in a multi-layered approach to narrow the state's achievement gap. It would eliminate the current Head Start waiting list, provide support to help all students read well, target educational support to parents of at-risk children ages 0-8, and more.

 

Investing in Higher Education - The Governor's budget would invest $288 million to freeze tuition at the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU), expand the State Grant Program, return the University of Minnesota Medical School to national prominence, and make other needed improvements to higher education.