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State deficit should not affect education
University Chronicle
EDITORIAL BOARD
The issue: Minnesota projected a budget deficit of $1.95 billion Tuesday.
What we think: Cuts to balance the budget should stay away from schools and state education programs.
Throughout Minnesota, schools are being closed, funding for education is being cut and teachers are being laid off. This is not new news for Minnesotans. Some people have already given their tax refund checks to their local schools to help pay for programs that were recently cut from state funding.
What is new news is the fact that the state now projects a deficit of $1.95 billion. In other words, the state is $1.95 billion in the hole. Instead of a recession simply hitting Minnesota, it slammed into the state.
Of course we are not alone. The recession hit most of the other states as well. About 45 other states are facing similar or worse situations. Minnesota State legislators say that the U.S. economy was hurting before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Now the hurt is just more severe.
Gov. Jesse Ventura and legislators from the Democratic and Republican parties agree to use money from budget reserves to help pay the debt, but there is still not enough to cover all the $1.95 billion. There may be budget reductions and an increase in the gasoline tax. And although Republicans and the governor plan to work at keeping taxes the same, there is a chance that taxes might increase.
Fortunately, at least at this point, both parties want to spare schools from budget cuts. This is one area, among others, that should not be affected by this recession. Hopefully the parties mean what they say.
Since when were there too many teachers in the first place? Since when was there an excess of programs for children? The previous cuts were a disgrace to the state, much less if the government was to cut even more funding for education.
We may be looking at a deficit that will affect most of us in one way or another permanently. Even still, the one area that should not be hit is education.
It has been proven that schools with a diverse array of available programs instill more hope in their children.
This state’s future lies in the hands of it’s children – the price to educate them is well worth it.
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