Over the past several weeks, budget managers have worked with staff at sites and departments to determine expenditure reduction recommendations for the 2022-23 school year. Please know that this has been an extremely challenging process as we value our current staffing levels, programs, and service model. We are currently in a financial position where expenditures outpace the revenue we are generating.
In the past couple of years the district has operated in a deficit spending model. We have intentionally allowed expenditures to be higher than revenue, especially as we managed through the extra demands during the pandemic. During this period, we utilized fund balance and federal COVID funding to close the gap. We are at a point where this is no longer sustainable, and expenditure reductions need to be made.
Below I have highlighted some of the revenue and expenditure assumptions that will be used to build the budget for next school year.
FY 2023 Revenue Budget Assumptions
- 2% Increase in Per Pupil Formula from the state
- 4,477 K-12 average daily member (this is a slight decrease from the current school year)
FY 2023 Expenditure Budget Assumptions
- Salaries/Benefits as per contract/historical settlements
- Inflationary increases to utilities, contracted transportation rates
- Maintain 8% unreserved fund balance for fiscal year 2023
- General Fund revenue increases resulting from 2022 Legislative Session will be used to balance future budgets
Below I have provided a high level summary of the planned expenditure reductions. Please know that reducing expenditures in an organization our size is never an easy exercise as it has a direct impact on our staffing, programs, and service model which directly impacts the daily experience of our students.
Expenditure Reductions (note: the information below is provided to serve as a high level overview of the planned 10% expenditure reductions that were previously communicated in late January)
- Business Office Staff - duties will be assigned to other staff in the department.
- Human Resources Staff - duties will be assigned to other members in the department.
- Facilities/Grounds - duties will be assigned to other members in the department.
- Elementary Classroom Teachers connected to projected enrollment - this reduction in teachers does not impact projected class size targets. All sections will be staffed within the class size target ranges for projected enrollment.
- Elementary Literacy Coach - literacy coaching responsibilities will be shifted to the International Baccalaureate (IB)/Professional Development (PD) coordinator at each site. Literacy coaching staff will be maintained at Title 1 schools (Aquila and Peter Hobart).
- Racial Equity Instructional Coach - reduce coaching staff and modify the coaching model to remain in compliance with the expectations of the Alternative Teacher Professional Pay System (ATPPS).
- Elementary Physical Education Staff - modify the elementary physical education model to reflect the reduction in staff.
- Elementary Spanish Staff - reduce elementary Spanish teachers and shift the language model at the elementary IB schools.
- Secondary Classroom Staff connected to projected enrollment - this reduction in staff does not impact the class size targets. All sections will be staffed within the class size target ranges for projected enrollment.
- Transportation - modify transportation administrative model in partnership with the district school bus contractor, Park Adam Transportation, to determine a more cost effective model. In addition, the no bus area will be expanded and bus stops consolidated to reduce transportation costs.
Unfortunately, this reduced spending does not result in a balanced budget for next year, but we have begun to close the gap. This means that the district may face additional reductions in future years while we continue our work to increase revenue. To do this, we are focused on increasing enrollment and working with our legislators to increase funding levels.
I would like to thank all of the stakeholders who participated in the process. As we continue to work through these changes, it is my hope that we find ways to mitigate the impact of these reductions and live our district mission:
St. Louis Park Public Schools sees, inspires, and empowers each learner to live their brilliance in an environment that centers student voice and experience to create racially equitable learning that energizes and enhances the spirit of our community.
More information about our current year budget and class size targets can be found in the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Book. Thank you for your continued support of St. Louis Park Public Schools.
Astein K. Osei
Superintendent
