Hourly public school employees would be compensated for lost wages due to the COVID-19 shutdown, and contractors such as bus companies would be reimbursed for paying their employees — that under a bill Democrats in the Minnesota House passed this afternoon over objections from a number of Republicans. New Brighton Democrat Mary Kunesh-Podein says, “There’s only a few weeks left of school. Some of these people are holding on by the edge, some not at all, and we have an opportunity to make that difference.”
Republicans say the bill would not prevent layoffs, and it makes promises that schools can’t keep in current budget situation.