Watching Gov. Wendell
Anderson sign the 1971 tax
bill — creating the “Minnesota
Miracle”, Star Tribune, 1971
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Leading up to 1971, Minnesota’s finances at both the state and local levels were in need of reform; lawmakers attempted to fix it in 1967, but these did not leave a long-lasting reform. School districts were only funded by property taxes, which were increasingly leading to public frustration and disparities between districts due to differing property values. Based on Gov.
Anderson’s “Fair School Finance Plan”, this major reform gave the state most of the responsibility for school funding. Specifically, it increased the state’s share of school funding from 43% to 65%, lowered property taxes, increased state taxes, and reduced the disparities between “richer and poorer” districts. The Minnesota Miracle remained largely unchanged for over 30 years until 2002. |
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