Gov Walz addresses teachers with fiery speech at State Capitol as budget negotiations continue (AUDIO)

Hundreds of educators from around Minnesota rallied in the rotunda of the State Capitol Saturday to call for significant increases to education funding in the next two years. Governor Walz and legislative leaders have been at the budget negotiating table all week, and Walz, a former teacher, had this message for the cheering crowd–and all teachers in Minnesota: “as we just walked back and forth from sitting at that table, you know what, all those years of teaching, I wondered who the hell sat at that table, well guess what, 80,000 teachers sit at that table!” And with regard to Senate Republicans, Walz told the teachers, “the moment is upon us, you know there are competing ideas about what Minnesota should look like, I gotta tell you, I’m hearing a lot of great ideas from some folks that fit better in Mississippi and Alabama than they do in Minnesota.” Republicans agree on an increase in education spending–but they say it should not come as a result of the tax increases proposed by the governor. Earlier this year, Education Minnesota–the state’s teacher’s union–estimated the cost to cover reducing class sizes, bringing the state’s ratio of counselors to students in line with national standards and giving every four-year-old access to a high-quality pre-K–among other priorities–at just over $4 billion for the biennium. Here’s an excerpt from the governor’s speech: