The governor’s budget recommendations are out. What does this mean for Anoka-Ramsey?

Lizzie Babashova

Staff Writer

On Jan. 24 Gov. Mark Dayton released his budget recommendations for fiscal year 2018 which includes $150 million in new funding for the colleges and universities of Minnesota State, which includes Anoka-Ramsey.

Minnesota State, previously known as MNSCU, is the fourth-largest system of two-year colleges and four-year universities in the United States.

Dayton is recommending an increase of $50 million for 2018 and $75 million beginning in 2019 to fund operating cost increases at Minnesota State. Specifically, he is urging Minnesota State to fund activities that address the educational attainment gap.

As the state’s demographics continue to shift and communities of color continue to grow, a significant intervention is necessary to reduce the state’s large racial disparities in academic achievement and educational attainment.

Dayton also recommended investing $25 million in 2018 and 2019 to support the replacement of Minnesota State’s outdated, 20-year-old enterprise system, Integrated Statewide Record System.

ISRS is used by all Minnesota State institutions for data entry, management and preservation of institution records. The records maintained in ISRS include student, employee, and financial records.

The development and implementation of ISRS Next Generation would be a multi-year technology infrastructure project.

The operating budget will be enacted by the 2017 legislature and signed into law by the governor once an agreement is reached.