NEW LONDON -- The New London-Spicer School Board members spent an hour discussing numerous education issues with three legislators at the regular board meeting Monday.
Sen.-elect Joe Gimse, R-Willmar, Rep. Al Juhnke, DFL-Willmar, and Rep. Bud Heidgerken, R-Freeport, commented on a number of school funding issues that are expected to come before the Minnesota Legislature in January.
Full state funding of all-day, every-day kindergarten is a perennial topic, which will likely advance in the session.
"That will be one of our priorities," Ju-hnke said. "At the end of the day, no one can argue the value of that for the children."
NLS currently has an every-other-day kindergarten program. Board member Robert Moller noted that the all-day, every-day topic has been discussed by the board and legislators before.
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"I've been here for 12 years, and every year, we hear 'we're going to get all-day, every-day kindergarten,'" he said.
Juhnke expects the states education funding formulas to get a "look-see" or at the very least, the legislators will consider configuring the formulas to include inflationary costs.
Gimse noted that he wants to see equitable funding for schools that doesn't damper the business and economic growth that has spurred an estimated $500 million state budget surplus.
"That surplus was created by hard working people," he said. "I don't want to see taxes that take a step back and take away momentum from businesses that create jobs."
The increase in jobs and economic development, he said, will provide more money for education and health care. "We can't tax our way into prosperity, we can't take away the incentives from businesses and entrepreneurs," Gimse said.
Heidgerken noted that he wants the lawmakers to examine the high school curriculum that pushes college prep on all students, when only 25 percent of the students actually graduate from college. Students need a start on vocational training while they are still in high school, he said.
"We push credits to get into college," he said. "But what about the auto mechanics? What about the diesel mechanics? And what about the welders?"
The board also approved the audit by Conway, Deuth and Schmiesing of the school finances for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006.
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The key items from the audit highlighted by auditors Jim Gilman and Darrin Ogdahl included the fact that enrollment, and therefore state funding dollars, dropped from 1,638 students in 2005 to 1,591 students in 2006. About one-half of that drop is attributed to open enrollment of more students out of the district and fewer enrolling into the district. The school's general fund dropped $450,000 because of the roofing project on Prairie Woods Elementary. The district expeditures were $17.5 million in 2006.
