Minn. school groups seek big funding boost

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Groups that represent Minnesota's teachers, school board members and administrators are asking lawmakers for more than $1 billion in education spending increases in the next two years.

The request Monday came from the teachers union Education Minnesota along with the Minnesota School Boards Association and Association of School Administrators. The price tag on their wish list is more than double the $344 million Gov. Mark Dayton proposed in new education spending for the same period.

The groups want lawmakers to boost state per-pupil spending by 5 percent for the year starting July 1, and after that incorporate a yearly minimum increase tied to inflation. They also want $350 million for all-day kindergarten at state schools, and at least $80 million for new teacher training mandated by the Legislature in 2011.