Alex Sobieski, a parent of four St. Agnes School students in St. Paul, was one of many parents, students, school leaders and lawmakers at a rally in the rotunda of the Minnesota State Capitol May 7 protesting proposed budget cuts to nonpublic school pupil aid.
Accompanied by his fifth-grade daughter, Anna, Sobieski spoke to those gathered about their disapproval of Gov. Tim Walz’s proposal, which would eliminate state assistance for essential services at nonpublic schools, including busing, textbooks and nursing.
For Anna, who has Type 1 diabetes, asthma and allergies, visiting the school nurse is not a luxury; it’s an everyday need, Sobieski said.
“That means being able to participate in gym class and in recess without worrying about an asthma attack or without her blood sugar dropping,” Sobieski said. “It lets her be a normal kid. As a parent, I entrust her life to the professional care of a nursing staff that we work with daily. The nursing staff helps us manage her symptoms and helps us communicate with her care team, and it makes it part of her ability to integrate into this education system. It also means that as a parent, I don’t have to leave work multiple times a day to come dose her or (administer) medication.”
Walz’s budget proposal would eliminate more than $100 million over the biennium in essential services for private schools. The rally was held as lawmakers face a May 19 end to the legislative session. If everything goes as planned, a decision on the budget will be made by then, said officials with the Minnesota Catholic Conference, which helped sponsor the rally. If not, a special session will have to be called.
Minndependent, a nonprofit that works to connect and strengthen Minnesota’s independent schools, also sponsored the rally, which drew hundreds of people. After the rally, students, parents and school leaders marched to Walz’s office to deliver an official statement protesting the budget cuts. Throughout the day, rally-goers and others met with their lawmakers about the issue.
Sobieski said this legislation is an issue of safety and of life and death. He said that it’s easy to think of private schools as being for affluent people.
“I’m a single working father of four,” Sobieski said. “I’m in charge of my children’s tuition by myself. It is because of very generous donors and the support of our state that allows Anna to have access to textbooks and to the most vital care of a nurse. We rely on their support for essential services, and it makes it so we don’t have to prioritize her life and her care over (my) job and (my) ability to provide support.”
People holding signs protesting the legislation gathered on all three levels of the rotunda for the 1:30 p.m. rally. Everyone who attended the rally had a chance to hear from legislators fighting the proposed cuts, and individual and group meetings with lawmakers began at 9 a.m.
Also addressing rally-goers was Benito Matias, the principal of Ascension School in North Minneapolis, who said the proposed budget cuts are an injustice. Impacting more than nursing in private schools, Matias focused on the impact the cuts would have on transportation.
Matias pointed out that across the country and in the state of Minnesota, schools face the challenge of absenteeism.
“For the state of Minnesota to then turn around and say we’re no longer going to support the transportation that gets our scholars to and from school every day just because they attend a nonpublic school is an injustice,” Matias said. “We have to recognize and stand up to injustices, and it’s our opportunity to stand up and do something. We talk about the state of Minnesota supporting counseling, supporting nursing, supporting textbooks; for them to say that they’re no longer going to do that is an injustice.”
