The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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April 7, 2009

K-12 cuts may get worse

Senate OKs deeper cut in aid

By Tanner Kent

Schools in Elysian and Amboy are already facing closure. Hundreds of area education jobs are already on the chopping block. Programs and activities have already been depleted.

But with the state Senate passing an education funding bill on Tuesday that included a 3.2 percent reduction in K-12 funding, local school officials are concerned the current round of budget reductions won’t be enough.

“This adds a whole new picture for us,” said St. Peter Supt. Jeff Olson.

The Senate plan originally called for a 7 percent reduction across the board. But the plan was amended to include $519 million in federal stabilization dollars, which softened the funding decline by more than half.

The approved proposal reduces the $13.8 billion K-12 education budget by about $453 million over the biennium — or about $273 per pupil.

Olson said St. Peter officials assumed a 2 percent decrease in state funding when projecting their 2009-10 budget. At the time, Olson said they thought that figure was too high.

But with the latest news from the Capitol, Olson said the School Board will have to develop a contingency plan to cut at least another $100,000 — on top of the $1.1 million that has been cut already.

Supt. Ed Waltman said Mankato Area Public Schools will also need a contingency plan.

On Monday, school officials wrapped up a $3 million budget reduction, the largest in district history. Another 3.2 percent reduction, Waltman said, would prompt another $2 million in cuts.

At that point, he said, the district would have few options left for balancing the 2009-10 budget: considering a hard freeze for all district expenditures and/or depleting reserve funds to delay long-term budget reductions until the 2010-11 budget cycle.

And while Waltman admits the Senate funding proposal would have “dire consequences” in the short-term, he said it might be the most viable solution in light of a $4.6 billion state budget shortfall.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s budget proposal contains small increases for programs like merit pay, but funding remains otherwise flat for the biennium. The state House proposal keeps education funding frozen for four years.

“The (Senate plan) is the poorest proposal for us,” Waltman said. “But, in the long-term, it might the best for the state.”

Facing a 2009-10 budget shortfall of more than $1 million, Maple River School District officials recently decided to close the Amboy school site. Without that action, the district would have considered such budget adjustment options as fee-based kindergarten and a four-day school week.

But now, with additional cuts possible but no final compromise on education funding likely until the end of May, Maple River Supt. Willis Schobe said schools are in an unfortunate spot. If a compromise on education funding drags too far into the summer, districts may have to look into short-term borrowing to balance the 2009-10 budgets.

“This is something,” said Schobe, “that districts are having a hard time with.”

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