U.

Saturday, April 06, 2002

U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone thinks he has a way to erase school budget deficits like the one in Albert Lea: See to it that the federal government keeps its word on special-education funding.

After falling short with a drive to increase federal funding for the mandated special ed programs last year, Wellstone told an Albert Lea audience Friday that he’ll propose withholding tax cuts from some of the country’s richest residents and instead direct that money toward school districts.

The government had originally promised to fund 40 percent of the cost of the mandate, but has instead been hovering around 12 percent before an increase to 17 percent, Wellstone told a crowd of around 75 that was mostly made up of students and teachers at Brookside Education Center.

&uot;It’s a matter of deciding priorities,&uot; Wellstone said. &uot;Maybe at the state and federal level, you do want to put some money into tax cuts, but how much do you want to put into education?&uot;

In Albert Lea, the district spends $4.8 million per year on special education, Superintendent David Prescott said. The school is paying 28 percent of that, amounting to more than $1.3 million. The school faced a $1.1 million budget deficit last year, so if the federal government had upped its contribution, it stands to reason that Albert Lea could have avoided cutting more than 14 teachers, transportation and programs last year, Wellstone said.

With bipartisan senate support last year, a bill that included provisions to fund special education at 40 percent was passed and ended up in a conference committee, on which Wellstone served. He said House Republican leadership was to blame for the funding’s demise.

Wellstone said funding education is not just about keeping school district budgets intact; he also hopes improving the respectability of public schools can help improve education by attracting more quality teachers. As it is, teaching is not seen as a desirable profession, he said.

&uot;There is so much bashing of teachers that the public is getting the impression that teachers aren’t doing their jobs,&uot; he said.

Specifically, Wellstone has proposed canceling last year’s tax cut for households with incomes higher than $297,000. He said of the money generated, half would be given to schools specifically for special ed and the rest could be spend however schools choose.

Wellstone, a Democrat finishing his second Senate term, faces Republican and former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman in his bid for reelection this fall.