Among his remarks June 13 at St. Cloud State, Gov. Mark Dayton acknowledged the untimely death of President Earl H. Potter III on this date in 2016. Dayton, a two-term Democrat, vigorously argued for more operational funding and capital investment for Minnesota public higher education.
Gov. Mark Dayton called Tuesday for more support for public higher education during a statewide talking tour about results at the 2017 Legislature.
Speaking at St. Cloud State University, the two-term Democrat called for more operational funding and capital investment.
“The higher education bill was a major disappointment,” he said. “The amount of funding was well below what I had proposed. I feel very badly for St. Cloud State and St. Cloud Community and Technical College.”
Dayton noted that state support for the 37-school Minnesota State system was cut repeatedly in the decade before he took office.
“In fiscal 2012, state funding for higher education, in real dollars, was the lowest it had been since 1981,” Dayton said.
Funding increases in recent legislative sessions are the start of a catch-up process, according to Dayton.
“It’s just so senseless,” he said. “Because our higher education institutions are our future. The success you have, and your students have, and the ability to attract and retain the best faculty, the best students, is everything, in terms of what the future of Minnesota is going to be.”
Dayton chided the Legislature for delaying investment in new facilities and repairing old buildings, especially given historically low interest rates and the state’s capacity for more bonded indebtedness.
“HEAPr, for basic repair and upgrade of our existing facilities, was seriously underfunded,” Dayton said. HEAPr stands for Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement.
St. Cloud State will receive no HEAPR funds during the next two fiscal years, beginning July 1, according to Phil Moessner, assistant vice president for facilities management. The Legislature appropriated $25 million for the Minnesota State system, through June 30, 2019.
St. Cloud State was fortunate to receive nearly $18.6 million to renovate historic Eastman Hall for student health services and health sciences academic programs. The project will renovate 43,291 gross square feet and build 15,562 gross square feet. Construction is expected to be complete by Spring 2018.
Dayton argued inadequate capital investment in Minnesota is symbolized by the $995 million bonding bill passed and signed in May. The bill funds, among other things, improvements to wastewater and drinking water facilities, Minnesota Zoo expansion, expanded bus transportation infrastructure, prison and mental hospital improvements and higher education construction.
“You could appropriately allocate that [amount] just to higher education in Minnesota,” Dayton said.
Said Dayton: “Significantly under-funding the operational side of higher education institutions in Minnesota and seriously under-funding the capital improvements that are necessary so we can continue to have world class education, world class facilities, with world class students taught by world class faculty — that should be our goal. And nothing less is acceptable for the future of Minnesota.”
