Proposal would shift transit money to schools

Posted at 3:55 PM on February 2, 2009 by Tim Pugmire (2 Comments)

Two Republican legislators say they want to take money that's now dedicated to mass transit and spend it on school buses.

The proposal would tap three transit accounts that are funded from a portion of the state sales tax on vehicle purchases, as well as a new quarter cent sales tax in metro area counties. About $100 million per year would be redirected to school districts for student transportation. Sen. Joe Gimse, R-Willmar, says the state budget crisis has created an opportunity to re-examine how government operates.

"We just think that we should shift our priorities, take another look at what are our priorities and move to this model, where we are taking care of the children of the state of Minnesota," Gimse said.

At a State Capitol news conference today, Gimse and Rep. Randy Demmer, R-Hayfield, were joined by two rural school superintendents who said the money would take pressure off local property taxes and help them replace aging buses.

Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, chair of the Transit Subdivision in the Minnesota Senate, says the GOP plan would pit schools against a metro transit system that's already in financial trouble.

"Right now we have a $45 million deficit in metro area transit," Dibble said. "I think he would add another $45 million or $50 million deficit to that. We would basically have to simply stop running our buses. No one could get to work. No one could get to school who relies on the buses."

Dibble says legislators should instead work with school districts to make sure the money already dedicated to student transportation is spent effectively.

Comments (2)

Minnesota should build Personnel Rapid Transit Systems that could bring children from their neighborhood to their schools and home again. We could fund these systems by servicing bonds with the money we now spend on imported fossil fuels. The electric systems could be powered by wind turbines based right here in Minnesota. States that are able to exploit fossil fuel resources are doing much better in this economic downturn than states without those resources to rely on. It is time for Minnesota to develop our renewable energy resources. Here is a simple equation. Total megawatts of electrical demand (in state)divided by the number of public schools (in state)= the size of wind farm that each school should own as a source of non-tax revenue. By having each school submit a business plan demonstrating the ability of these projects to retire the bond issued to fund their development and return a profit to the "sponsoring" school the tax payer would be held harmless, and the school would be insulated from the effects budget fluctuation.

P.S. I shared this wind farms for schools idea (energizing education initiative) with Rep.Demmer in 2002. Apparently he would rather fight over a shrinking pie than sponsor legislation that could bring development to his district.

Posted by Chris Gamer | February 2, 2009 9:45 PM

PRt is absurd,why is it not available elsewhere?

Posted by al R | February 3, 2009 1:22 PM

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