Minnesota Legislators Travel State

 Minnesota legislators are traveling around the state to let people know about proposed budgets for the next two years.
 
Budgets from Democrats and Republicans include more funding for education.
 
Education is one of the major parts of the Minnesota budget and legislators are working to make sure it stays that way.
 
Parry Jacobson lives in Audubon.

He has several grandchildren who go to a K-12 school in Minnesota.

He says it’s a good idea legislators are working on increasing the education budget.
 
“If it’s worthwhile, go for it. If the money is well spent, I don’t care. Education is important,” said Jacobson.
 
Legislators made their way around the state to highlight budget proposals.
They include increases to the education budget.
House Republicans say they are looking at a way to make education equal throughout the state
 
“We’re going to create a new pot of money that basically gets distributed to each student evenly across the state of Minnesota, rather than putting it into a formula that when you add money to the formula, continues to increase the disparity between what a student gets in greater Minnesota and what a student gets in Minneapolis and St. Paul,” said Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt.
 
In a Dilworth town hall meeting, Minnesota senator Kent Eken stressed how important education is on the budget.
He also says Democrats are looking at increasing the education budget by about 2 percent while republicans are looking to increase it by around 1 percent.
 
“We’re trying to make sure that we adequately invest in our education system so that we provide the best opportunity for our children and make sure that they are well trained, well–educated for the workforce and have successful lives,” said Senator Eken.
 
Some other topics highlighted in the budgets include a projected surplus and a proposed plan by Democrats to add a gas tax to help pay for roads and bridges.