Lawmakers Want Faster Payback of Minnesota School IOUs

ST. PAUL (AP) - House Democratic and Republican leaders have come to early agreement on the state budget: Both want the final product to repay IOUs to Minnesota schools faster than Gov. Mark Dayton has proposed.

They differ on where to find the money.

House Majority Leader Erin Murphy, a St. Paul, Democrat says her caucus will push to "aggressively" repay a $1.1 billion aid deferral to schools though she wouldn't commit to having the full debt erased in the upcoming two-year budget. House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, a Republican from Crown, says it's a priority of his caucus too. He suggested diving into state budget reserves to do it because GOP lawmakers oppose legislation raising taxes.

In his new budget, Dayton proposed more than $300 million in new K-12 school spending but wouldn't undo the prior aid shift for another four years.

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