Morud: Local residents mirror results of poll on education tax credits

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

June 12, 1997

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

A statewide poll -- finding that Minnesotans like the idea of receiving tax breaks for educational expenses -- probably closely resembles how local residents feel about the issue as well, Bemidji schools Superintendent Rollie Morud said Wednesday.

But locally, Morud said he senses tax breaks for public school parents are not as controversial as the idea of tax breaks or deductions being awarded to attend private schools.

A poll conducted by the St. Paul Pioneer Press , KARE-11 and Minnesota Public Radio and released Wednesday, seems to support his statements.

More than two out three Minnesotans surveyed said they do favor tax credits or deductions for education summer camps and computers for children. However, slightly fewer people favored tax breaks to offset the costs of individual tutors and private school tuition.

The idea of more tax credits and deductions for such expenses is dividing Gov. Arne Carlson and the state Legislature. Carlson vetoed the Legislature's K-12 spending bill because it didn't include the $150 million in credits he wanted.

A special legislative session will have to be called to resolve the dispute. Supporters say tax breaks would provided for more choices in education, while opponents say they would rob tax dollars from public schools.

Carlson said support for tax breaks indicated by the poll should warn legislators.

"It's just a question of when the Democratic leadership says they're going to get on board. It puts them in a very awkward position because it puts them against their own base," he said.

Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, DFL-Erskine, said the poll's support for tax breaks hinges on a decision based on the pocketbook, rather than policy.

"All of us think we pay too much in taxes, and we all like to have some additional write-offs," he said. "The issue is public money for private education. The bottom line is most people don't think we're adequately funding public education. If that's the case, how can we embark on additional public finding for private education at a time when we're asking for more accountability, higher standards and more documentation from our public schools?"

Morud agreed the poll's findings probably supported Moe's position more than Carlson's.

"People want to give (tax breaks) to parents for summer activities, not private school education. They are worried about adequate finding to public schools," he said. "In the continuum, (the findings) fall to the side of public schools. It leans closer to the no-funding-for-private-schools end than to the other end."

The telephone poll of 814 registered Minnesota voters who say they vote regularly in state elections was conducted by Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research Inc. of Washington, D.C., from June 6-8. The margin of err was 3.5 percentage points.

(This story contains information from The Associated Press.)