ST. PAUL – The Minnesota House on Monday approved an omnibus higher education package which takes steps toward closing a major State Grant Program shortfall without increasing state spending.
As chair of the House Higher Education Committee, Rep. Marion Rarick, R-Maple Lake, said she led a top-down, inside-out examination of our state’s higher education budget to determine exactly how the taxpayers dollars are being spent and made cuts based on that deep dive.
The result is bipartisan agreement on a $3.98 billion plan which holds that part of the state’s budget flat the next two years as the state faces a $6 billion shortfall. It makes policy changes and cuts to significantly close a $239 million State Grant shortfall. This greatly reduces the gap – $62 million hole remains – without immediately impacting students.
“With a 67-67 tie in the House, bipartisanship is essential for bills to pass this session,” Rarick said. “My objective with this bill is to tighten up unnecessary or inefficient state spending while holding students harmless. We asked the tough questions, made difficult decisions and ultimately crafted a bill that accomplishes those goals.”
The bill delivers cuts of $36.4 million for 2026-27 and another $38.3 million in the two-year cycle to follow, reappropriating the savings to the State Grant Program deficit. This includes reducing and then eliminating the Student Parent Support Initiative, saving $10 million over four years. In addition, Mayo Clinic funding is eliminated from the Office of Higher Education’s budget, a $3.6 million reduction. Rarick said the cut is a drop in the bucket compared with Mayo’s 2024 gross revenue of around $18.8 billion.
The bill also cuts $500,000 in cannabis dual training funds because. Rarick said that appropriation is unnecessary since the market is not up and running. It also eliminates funding that was going to Lutheran Social Services, which Rarick said has 10 employees making more than the governor and a CEO making $420,000. A student loan counseling program also is stripped of funding in the bill, saving taxpayers $400,000 per biennium.
“Republicans stood firm on closing that massive State Grant Program deficit through cuts to other areas of the budget, then applying those savings to the state grant and dialing back the overly generous parameters that sent money flowing out like a high-pressure fire hose,” Rarick said. “To my knowledge, nobody has gone to the depths we’ve gone by combing through data and asking tough questions this session. After initial reluctance, Democrats finally agreed to the spending cuts we identified, and we were able to bring forward a bill worthy of bipartisan support from the full body.”
One area of new spending Rarick said she did support is $3 million for base funding of the U of M & CentraCare medical school. The hope, she said, is that this new medical school will train doctors who will then serve in greater Minnesota where we have shortages.
A conference committee soon will work to reconcile differences between the bill approved by the House and a separate higher education package that is moving through the Senate so votes on final approval can take place.
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