Minnesota Deserves Honest Leadership on Education
Governor Tim Walz’s recent remarks at a Texas conference—where he made several claims about Minnesota’s education system that intentionally do not align with reality—offer a glimpse into a broader pattern in his leadership. These comments were deliberate lies and they illustrate a consistent effort to present Minnesota’s challenges as though they are successes, relying on polished narratives rather than straightforward honesty. This pattern has defined much of his tenure and continues to frustrate families, educators, and communities who are grappling with the consequences of problems he so often minimizes.
A central shortcoming of Walz’s leadership has been his habit of promising comprehensive solutions while delivering programs that are partial or incomplete. His description of Minnesota as having “universal pre-K,” despite the state offering only a limited Voluntary Pre-K program that serves a relatively small share of children, is another deceptive tactic. His tendency to overstate progress creates confusion for families and undermines trust in the state’s ability to deliver on its commitments. Minnesotans deserve clarity, not the impression that longstanding goals have already been achieved when they have not.
This same choice to present lies as truth appeared in Walz’s comments about student achievement. Despite significant declines in reading, math, and science scores in recent years, he portrayed the state’s academic performance as improving. Families and educators, however, know that many students are struggling more than ever, and they face the consequences of these setbacks every day in classrooms across the state. When a governor glosses over such declines, it signals a leadership style that prefers optimistic, and deliberately inaccurate, messaging rather than honestly reporting difficulties and charting a path forward. That same unwillingness to face reality is how enormous fraud schemes—totaling more than a billion dollars in losses—were able to occur under his administration’s watch. When you ignore, or hide, the obvious, you invite disaster.
The Governor’s selective use of data similarly extends to issues such as absenteeism and graduation rates. While he highlighted a slight improvement in absenteeism and celebrated a record-high graduation rate, these claims lack the broader context needed to understand what is truly happening. Chronic absenteeism remains far worse than before the pandemic, and graduation numbers lose their meaning when so many students are not meeting grade-level expectations. Spiking the football on graduation rates while students leave high school unprepared for the real world is another example of what happens when leadership refuses to confront what is plainly in front of us. Presenting statistics without context distorts the picture and allows systemic issues to go unaddressed.
Taken together, these examples from the Texas conference reveal a larger shortcoming: Walz’s leadership defaults to purposeful and dishonest reporting in order to portray a much better image than the reality. Whether the issue is education, public safety, economic strain, or oversight failures that enabled large-scale fraud, Minnesotans frequently encounter a narrative from their governor that does not match their day-to-day reality. Painting a political picture that is not based on facts erodes confidence and makes it more difficult to rally public support for meaningful solutions.
Minnesota has long prided itself on strong schools and strong institutions, but rebuilding that strength requires leadership grounded in transparency and accountability. Minnesotans are not asking for perfect outcomes, only for honest assessments and a clear-eyed willingness to address problems head-on. If Governor Walz wants to lead the state forward effectively, he must begin by replacing reassuring rhetoric with candid acknowledgment of the reality of the situation and then work forward towards actual solutions.
- Rep. Ron Kresha, Co-Chair of the House Education Finance Committee
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