The Minnesota House approved a plan Thursday that keeps school funding stagnant over the next two years but pledges to infuse billions of dollars of new money into the system starting in 2014, reports The Pioneer Press. It earmarks $13.7 billion for K-12 education, slicing about $276 million in state aid to schools but using federal stabilization funds to offset the decrease. The bill also includes nearly $1.7 billion in accounting shifts, such as delaying aid payments to schools, a tactic used in past years when the state has faced sizable budget deficits.
The House passed the bill 85-48. Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, chairwoman of the House K-12 education finance division, said the package does not damage schools, despite the state’s multibillion-dollar budget shortfall…