SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Today, the House Education Finance Committee discussed legislation authored by vice chair Rep. Mary Frances Clardy (DFL-Inver Grove Heights) to triple safe school investments in Minnesota public schools.
“Minnesota students, teachers, and staff deserve to be safe in school, no matter where they’re from or their zip code,” said Rep. Clardy, an educator in the St. Paul Public Schools district of more than 25 years. “The legislation I’m carrying empowers local school districts to use this critical aid to set up a safer environment for students, whether by improving building infrastructure, hiring more school security staff, or providing more counseling services.”
Safe schools revenue is a levy program that allows school districts to levy up to $36 per student for additional safety measures. Rep. Clardy’s bill would triple the amount of safe schools revenue that a school district can receive, from $36 to $108 per pupil, and provides the entire increase in state aid rather than levy.
These funds allocated in this bill can go toward hiring school resource officers, funding drug abuse and gang prevention programs, school security measures, crime prevention, student and staff safety measures, cyber security, counseling, social work, and chemical dependency services.
HF 1360 is being considered for inclusion in a future package of education funding legislation.
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