A lot of the same problems exist in Minnesota, especially in the urban core. Minnesota's standing in terms of percent of state expenditure going to education has dropped a bit and our overall ranking has dropped from the top five in the 1970s to the middle of the pack today. Part of that is due to an aging population and rising poverty, programs that are paid for through the health and human services budget (and truthfully, some of those expenditures help with putting kids in a position to learn), but part of it is an erosion of public education funding that has been accompanied by a plethora of new expectations (not all education-related) and assessments. It's no wonder that there is a teacher shortage. Who wants a $30,000 per year job when all you do is get yelled at by parents, have your results dissected, and get blamed for things that are beyond your control?
