Education

As a parent of three students who graduated from District 196 schools, I know that they received a comprehensive education and were well prepared for their chosen paths. As a real estate professional, I know that excellent schools keep our property values high, encourage local businesses, and promote safe neighborhoods. School District 196 has caring, experienced and highly trained teachers who are committed to a safe, welcoming, and productive learning environment. As your Representative, I have supported legislation that ensures our public schools continue to be the best in the nation.

As your State Representative, I will:

• Continue to support full and equitable funding for our public schools.

• Ensure funding that will allow schools to have small class sizes, well-trained teachers, and support staff, as well as a safe environment in which to learn.

• Provide funding for early learning and full-service schools to shrink Minnesota’s opportunity gaps.

• Listen to and support educators and parents to determine what is best for all our kids.

• Ensure that students receive a comprehensive education. Instead of denying the past, or hiding from uncomfortable realities, education helps us chart a better future for all.

• Oppose vouchers and school privatization, which diverts funding from our public schools to institutions that are not accredited and have little oversight.

• Fight for highly trained educators through strong licensing standards. Retaining current teachers and successfully recruiting future teachers into the profession requires high standards and higher salaries and benefits, not less preparation and training.

• Promote programs that help make our schools safe and free from fear. Increasing the ratio of counselors to students, keeping class sizes small, anti-bullying campaigns, and other mental health programs will help make our schools safer. Arming teachers is not a reasonable solution.

• Support a public two-year associate program for students willing to work hard. The state should also support any student who wishes to obtain a trade degree at a public vocational school.

• Advocate for programs that will lead to forgiveness of a percentage of the current outstanding educational loan debt.

Highlights:

• Appropriated over $300 million in early learning scholarships.

• Appropriated $44 million in state grants to make college affordable for more families.

• Invested more than $6 billion over four years in our public schools, and protected the link between future funding and inflation, stabilized base budgets, and brought down the Special Education cross-subsidy so districts can direct more of their budget to the needs of all their students.

• Created a teacher apprenticeship program (2025 1st Special Session Laws, Ch. 6).

• Stabilized school staffing through unemployment insurance coverage for hourly employees, helping to keep dedicated individuals in crucial support positions.

• Reduced hunger as a barrier to learning by providing free school meals to all students – and maximized federal funding. Hungry children often need more services and fall behind.

• My legislation in 2023 secured $92 million for the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities undergraduate chemistry teaching lab, which opened in 2025.

• Made good on the North Star Promise by making state college tuition-free to grads whose families earn $80,000 or less.

• Improved children’s safety by requiring cars stop whenever school buses’ red lights are flashing.

• Enhanced school safety with “Knoxboxes” to give emergency building access to public safety officers.

• Celebrated the opening of Emerald Trail Elementary School in 2025! Minnesota students deserve access to the best educators, facilities, and programs. Excited to continue partnering with our local education leaders to get the best outcome for our kids.