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Lawmakers hear from rural superintendents pushing to raise transportation sparsity aid
Summary
Superintendents from Bemidji, Forest Lake and Stillwater told the House Education Finance Committee that current state transportation funding disadvantages large, geographically spread districts and asked lawmakers to increase sparsity aid under House files 52 and 53. The committee laid both bills over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill.
Members of the Minnesota House Education Finance Committee heard testimony Tuesday from superintendents in Bemidji, Forest Lake and Stillwater urging lawmakers to increase transportation sparsity aid for large geographic school districts.
The committee laid over House File 52 and House File 53 for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill after lawmakers and staff described how the current per‑pupil funding formula leaves rural and geographically large districts subsidizing transportation costs from general education dollars.
The bills, carried by Representatives Hill and Anderson, would increase the share of a district's transportation deficit covered by state sparsity aid. Representative Hill said the proposal follows a 2019 task force recommendation and seeks to raise the state’s…
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