Forum editorial: Work left undone in Minnesota

It appears the boys and girls in the Minnesota Legislature were unable to play nice during the regular session, and now will have to learn to do better when they return to the playground this summer for a special session. It’s not an unprecedented situation for the Legislature, but given the importance of the issues facing the state, they should have found a way within the allotted time to get the job done.
It’s not altogether a matter of Republicans and Democrats digging in. Gov. Mark Dayton has been exceptionally determined to work his will, and that factor has generated bipartisan pique. For example, a bipartisan education bill cleared the Republican House and the Democratic Senate, but Dayton wanted more and promised a veto. Even as leadership and the governor huddled to find compromise, the governor’s concessions were rejected by the GOP House, and the veto became a sure thing.
About that education bill: Dayton has been adamant that he wants sufficient funding to pay for half-day voluntary pre-kindergarten in all the state’s school districts. The House majority fought him, knowing that the pre-K was his priority and was not negotiable. (Although it apparently was negotiable and was not in the bill that passed.)
But whatever the legislative machinations that resulted in the final vetoed education bill, Dayton’s determination to fund pre-K is the right way to go. Minnesota, allegedly a national leader in public education, has been behind the curve regarding pre-K opportunities. Some districts fund it on their own, others do not, usually because of budget constraints. The governor’s optional state funding plan at least would allow more districts to offer pre-K.
When a special session convenes the agenda will be full. Lawmakers failed to get to several vital matters, including transportation funding, the legacy fund budget and public works funding. The failure to agree on a transportation bill was especially surprising because early in the session transportation seemed to be the priority for Democrats, Republicans and the governor.
Maybe the squabbling legislators needed a little break. Maybe a few weeks to consider their failures – and to hear from their head-shaking constituents – will help focus their minds when they return to St. Paul. And maybe that pre-K bill, which is so important to the children and families of Minnesota, will get the OK.
Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum management and the newspaper’s Editorial Board.