Minnesota – the Best State in the Country For Kids

Duluth, Minn. — Governor Tim Walz visited a classroom at Laura McArthur elementary today. Walz had been a teacher for nearly 20 years, and a state legislator for 12 He talked about his proposal, known as One Minnesota budget, which is designed to make Minnesota the best state in the country for kids.

“My message to the people of Duluth and to our students is we hear you, we see you, we value you, we’re goanna have a budget that reflects the needs of his community in a way that allows folks to do what they’re going to do,” said Walz.

The 12 Billion dollar budget lowers the cost of child care, expands tax cuts and reduces child poverty. The governor says the proposal would provide the largest investment in public education in state history. It would include universal school meals and an increased access to mental health resources.

Walz said, “I think the things that we can do with retention certainly the pay, certainly the resources, certainly providing the support staff like counselor and mental health help, making sure that when that child walks through the door that they’ve had stable housing, they’ve has access to healthcare , we’re talking universal meals.”

The Governor’s budget proposal is recommending tying school funding to inflation in all future years. For next year he is proposing a 4% increase and a 2% increase the year after in general education funding.

Walz said, “What our budget proposal is to use this surplus to get this money back into the hands of working Minnesotans and to invest in this things that grow our economy. Whether that be early childhood education, access to paid family and medical leave, infrastructure developments that are going back to local communities and sustainability around the environment. ”

Walz says he is confident that much of his budget proposal will pass in the legislature. But he also said he is open to listening to ideas that others have and he is also willing to negotiate to reach a consensus.

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