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State Senator LeRoy A. Stumpf District 01 208 Capitol 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55155-1606 Telephone (651) 296-8660 Use Mail Form |
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| Senate Majority Leader and Education Chair say Gov. Pawlenty is “cooking the books” | ||||||||||||
Gov. Tim Pawlenty today announced his approval of an unallotment plan that includes “changes in the state accounting system.” The announcement corresponds to testimony from Finance Commissioner Tom Hanson to the Legislative Advisory Commission in which he acknowledged that in order to “mimic” a shift, the state’s Department of Education will have to change the way it keeps track of taxpayers’ money.
“The governor only has the authority to cut or delay payments; he cannot restore the funds,” said Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller. “In order to even pretend to accomplish a shift, he has to ‘cook the books’ by altering the way the Department of Education manages its UFARS accounting system.”
Part of the governor’s go-it-alone approach to budget balancing includes a $600 million reduction for what is called a “property tax recognition shift.” The governor’s plan means the state will be forcing school districts to borrow money to pay their bills, in order for the state to book one-time savings.
“This is not a shift; this is a cut to schools,” said state Sen. LeRoy Stumpf, chair of the Senate Education Committee. “If you take money away but don’t have a plan or the ability to pay it back, that’s a cut. Commissioner Hanson acknowledged these cuts would be on the state books ‘in perpetuity’.”
“The governor and Commissioner Hanson are employing “word games;” this misleads the public, is unwise, and not in the interest of long-term fiscal stability for our schools,” said Sen. Pogemiller.
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