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| Date: | July 28, 2011 | | Contact Name: | Susan Closmore | | Contact Phone: | 651-296-5712 | | Contact Email: | susan.closmore@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| Governor Must Reject Special Interest Politics at its Worst |
Lakeville – State Senator Dave Thompson issued the following statement regarding the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation’s attempts to pressure Governor Dayton.
The StarTribune reported last night that the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF) was pushing Governor Mark Dayton to order funding for MELF’s early childhood quality rating system program known as Parent Aware. The hope is to obtain one-time federal money from the federal Race to the Top program. This would expand federal control of our education system, and create dependency upon a source of money that will not continue.
Senator Thompson stated, “MELF made its case to the legislature during the 2011 session. Former State Senator Duane Benson personally lobbied me, and I sat on the Senate Education Committee that heard Senator Benson’s presentation. After careful consideration of the program’s marginal performance record, high cost, and expansion of bureaucracy that would have been required, funding for MELF was left out of the Education budget bill that was ultimately signed into law by the Governor.
It would be an abuse of executive authority for the Governor to unilaterally fund and expand a program that was rejected by the legislature. It also would be a violation of the Minnesota Constitution, which does not confer upon the Governor the power to appropriate money. I am confident Governor Dayton will reject the extraordinary and ill-advised plea of this special interest group.
It is disturbing to see a former Senator advocate for such actions. I understand the disappointment experienced by those who do not succeed in gaining appropriations from the legislature. But circumventing the legislative process in pursuit of government money is not the right thing to do.”
