State Cuts Take Swipe at Sch ools (MN)
June 1, 2010
The projected $5.7 billion shortfall the state could be confronting next year might put the financial hurt on Minnesota schools.
St. Cloud schools expect to take a hit in state funding next year, and they want the public to know what that means. St. Cloud school district officials are preparing for a reduction next year of as much as $5 million from the state, or about 5 percent of its $97.5 million in total revenue in 2009-2010.
Board members and staff have had discussions this spring about making sure the public knows what that really means.
“The start of the community process is to try to get people to be aware of the challenges we are facing and get people involved in how we can meet those challenges and still provide the best education we can,” school board member Bruce Hentges said.
Hentges, chairman of the St. Cloud board’s finance committee, has been sounding the alarm. A candidate for state Senate, he probably will hear a lot this summer and fall about the state budget as he campaigns.
Whoever wins the race between Hentges and City Council member John Pederson will be in the thick of the state’s budget deficit.
Hentges said he became alarmed when he read an article in the Minnesota School Boards Association magazine that suggested the Legislature could adopt every proposed budget reduction, revenue increase and tax increase idea out there and still not get close to solving the deficit.
“If you play it out, without revenue enhancement, it is catastrophic. Even with potential for revenue enhancement, it presents us with some serious challenges,” Hentges said.
Budget reductions in schools usually mean layoffs and elimination of programs. The district could start looking at the 2010-2011 budget in the fall.
The finance committee has put together five scenarios that vary depending on estimates for state revenue and other variables. Some show the district reaching statutory operating debt if the district makes no budget reductions.
It’s not just St. Cloud that is expecting to take a hit when the Legislature meets next winter. School districts are accustomed to getting no increase in state money. It has been almost 30 years since schools confronted a potential reduction in the money they receive.
The efforts to get the word out so far have been modest. Superintendent Steve Jordahl e-mailed the article that got Hentges’ attention to a list that includes staff and some other interested parties.
The board’s Linkages and Legislative committees have been asked to think of ideas for how the district can get the word out on what schools in Minnesota may confront.
Minnesota schools have been limited in the amount of pain they have had to endure as the state has battled deficits over the past two years. Schools, which receive the majority of the money they use for operations from the state, received no increase in 2009-2011.
Schools rely on the increases in state aid to pay for employee salary and benefit increases. Without them, they have to fall back on reductions or reserves to settle contracts and balance the budget.
In addition, the state has for two years delayed payment in state dollars. That forces school districts to borrow millions to pay bills and repay the loans with interest.
Schools in 2009 received millions from the federal government as part of the Recovery Act to stave off staff reductions. That money won’t be there in two years. St. Cloud received $6 million in what are called stabilization dollars just to keep employment levels steady.
Board member Bruce Mohs, who chairs the board’s Linkages committee that finds ways to connect the district with the public, said it is important for people to hear about the potential budget situation.
“I think it is serious conversation. I think all these conversations are important,” Mohs said.
Jordahl said the district and other schools have to keep slugging away and working with the public and Legislature make sure people understand the situation and to find a way to work it out.
He said budget projections make everything more stressful because it seems like there is no end in sight to the difficult financial times.
“At what point are we going to have to say to our public, we just can’t do as much or we can do as well with what we are getting now? You really work your tail off to give kids as many opportunities as they have gotten,” Jordahl said.