Dayton is vetoing good education legislation. We need your help.

Governor Dayton has already vetoed an entire session of legislative work, including the K-12 Education bill last week despite generous offers to increase spending by the GOP.

Negotiations resume today. Will you help?

There is much at stake for both our children and teachers. The danger: if Dayton does not get his way, there will be no education bill. This could blow up the session.

First our children. Dayton is going to push hard to gain more ground on expanding K-12 to become E-12, and making it normal for three and four-year-old tots to be in our schools. He already won a pilot project at 74 schools last year, and wants to expand it to half our schools this year, then presumably all schools before he leaves office.

That is wrong on so many levels, yet is serves Dayton’s master, Education Minnesota, the teachers union.

The Center has been working with Opportunity for All Kids, or OAK to focus on at-risk kids rather than providing nursery school for all of Minnesota’s preschoolers.

Here is a note from OAK:

Just a recap – the Opportunity Scholarship legislation is included in the House-Senate tax agreement at $35M per year.  The bill also includes an expansion of the individual education tax credit to include pre-kindergarten and tuition expenses, while at the same time expanding the income limits.  OAK’s top priority is the Opportunity Scholarship tax credit.

Please feel free to share the link www.oakmn.org — the action alert is located on the right hand side of the front page of the website.

It is very easy to send an email to Gov. Dayton and legislators using the action alert.  Your voice is critical in showing we have a strong network of supporters across the state. In addition, you may access and share content on Facebook at www.facebook.com/opportunityforallkids or on Twitter at @MinnOAK.

For teachers, there is getting rid of the union’s bad LIFO policy (last in, first out) that hurts young, talented teachers. And then there is an upgrade on how we license teachers, and get new talent into the classroom.

You can hear the lead legislator on this issue plead for reason in The Pioneer Press: “I think if the governor does not sign this, he doesn’t understand what it means to compromise and work through language changes constantly,” said Rep. Sondra Erickson, R-Princeton, who co-chaired the committee.

Does the Governor know how to compromise?

The Education and Tax bills have both been vetoed—and both are under negotiation today.

Please contact our state leaders today using the action alert at OAK, tell them to do the right thing by our youngest children and our young teachers. Don’t cave to Dayton. 

Here is a suggested email using the OAK action alert inter-face to send your note:

I oppose sending three and four-year-old children to our K-12 schools, but do support privately funded Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credits for at-risk kids. Please sign the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit into law, and stop the expansion of the voluntary pilot program for pre-K children in our public schools.

Would you do this today?