By Lori Ehde
It was a small crowd that gathered in Luverne High School’s auditorium Tuesday night for the "Take Back Minnesota" meeting.
The meeting was organized by a non-partisan coalition of local government leaders and public employees to raise awareness of how the proposed state budget cuts will affect rural Minnesota.
Speakers at the two-hour meeting included Luverne Public Schools Superintendent Vince Schaefer, Community Education Director Karen Willers, Luverne School teacher Jane Cote, County Administrator Kyle Oldre, County Commissioner Ron Boyenga, Luverne City Financial Officer Barb Berghorst and Mary Jane Brown Administrator Tony Lin.
Luverne Education Association President Dan Amborn moderated the gathering, attended by nearly 50 people, including presenters and a high school civics class.
"Gov. Pawlenty is faced with the daunting task of balancing the budget without raising taxes. His proposal will affect all of us in one way or another," Amborn said.
"Our purpose tonight is to see how that proposal will affect you."
He stressed that the governor’s proposal is still just a proposal, but that everyone needs to closely monitor its process of approval.
"If we wait to get definite answers, it will be too late. It will be a law and we’ll be stuck with it," Amborn said.
Most of the presenters urged local citizens to get involved with the state’s budget balancing process so that rural Minnesota doesn’t bear a disproportionate share of the cuts.
"I’m concerned not so much about Pawlenty," Schaefer said. "I’m more concerned about our politicians. Are they going to be part of the answer or part of the problem?"
Education
Schaefer said one of the most troublesome ways the cuts would affect Luverne School District is in its Alternative School.
There are currently more than 20 Luverne students enrolled part time in alternative school classes to catch up on classes they’ve failed for various reasons.
Proposed cuts would eliminate funding for this part-time enrollment.
"This is one of our sad points in the budget game," Schaefer said. "My fear is that without this funding, it will increase the drop-out rate — not so much for Luverne, but statewide."
Other students who may be directly affected are those taking college courses while in high school on the Post Secondary Education Option.
Schaefer and other presenters mentioned that cuts could have a devastating effect on the Rock County Collaborative, which coordinates resources through multiple government agencies to bring services to local families.
"It hasn’t been eliminated, but it certainly will be reduced," Schaefer said. "It has served us well and it will be missed in many ways."
Willers offered information on school-based early childhood services.
She shared information on the importance of Rock County’s Healthy Families programs and the long-term success early childhood programs foster in local families.
She said her programs are slated for 30 percent reductions in funding, and that the governor has proposed adjusting future funding based on free and reduced lunch populations.
Since very few Rock County families participate in the state’s free and reduced lunch program, the funding structure will be detrimental to local programs.
Public employee
wage freeze
Cote spoke on behalf of teachers with regard to the governor’s plan to freeze public employees’ salaries for two years.
She said freezing teacher’s salaries would provide a disincentive for top-quality people to enter the teaching profession.
"Some of our brightest and best are getting frustrated and are leaving the profession," Cote said. "Plus, the pay freeze is actually a pay cut, because health insurance costs continue to rise, and less money is taken home."
She said in the long run, students will lose if Minnesota schools can’t attract quality teachers.
Amborn said public employees represent 8 percent of the state’s population, but in Rock County, they represent a much higher percentage.
"They’re putting a lot of money into the local economy, and with a pay freeze their buying power is going to decrease substantially," Amborn said.
"We need to ask are we going to be able to progress economically?"
County government
County Administrator Kyle Oldre shared information about how the county’s services would be affected by the proposed funding cuts.
"I think what I learned when Gov. Pawlenty said everyone will feel it, he was not lying," Oldre said.
"It’s clearly an issue in front of all of us. The county’s goal will be to have as many public meetings as possible to set priorities."
He pointed out that 75 percent of what county governments do is driven by state and federal mandates, many of which are already under funded.
He said this is where state representatives need to work to get the state to support the mandates or reduce them.
LGA
Berghorst presented information on how Local Government Aid would be affected by the governor’s proposal.
The state provides the City of Luverne with property tax relief in the amount of 40 percent of its $3.55 million governmental budget. Without it, Luverne could not provide basic city services like police and fire protection at reasonable tax rates.
While there’s no risk of LGA being cut by the full 40 percent in Luverne, Berghorst said it’s important that legislators stand up for rural Minnesota to make sure the cuts are shared equally.
Meanwhile, Berghorst said the city is tightening its belt.
"What’s the city doing about this? We’ve put a hold on all capital expenditures and deferring capital items and maintenance where we can," Berghorst said.
Mary Jane Brown
Lin said the governor is proposing cutting 12 percent in the Medicare reimbursement rates to nursing homes.
In Luverne, 14 of MJB’s 70 beds could be lost, and 7,700 statewide.
"The fact of the matter is many nursing homes will close if this goes into effect," Lin said. "Quality is definitely at risk under this system."
Grants for training and attracting a shrinking pool of certified nursing assistants will be cut while demographers predict a 4 percent increase in demand for nursing home services in the near future.
"Elderly are frail," Lin said. "If they live in an inappropriate setting and end up getting hurt and hospitalized, how is that a savings?"
‘We’ll survive’
Commissioner Ron Boyenga spoke briefly about keeping the budget cuts in perspective.
"We will survive," he said. "Will it be the same? No. Nothing stays the same. But we will survive."
His cousin is a missionary in Northern Uganda where people live on a subsistence level.
"We have so much in this country that we take for granted," Boyenga said.
