On Tuesday, May 7th, the members of the Lake Superior School Board met with Superintendent Jay Belcastro and Principals from each of the district schools to talk about ways to deal with the $570,000 budget shortfall that the district is currently facing. Also in attendance were around 35 parents and a number of district teachers. The long and short of this budget shortfall is that the district is going to need to cut some administrative and teaching staff. In reality, reductions of this kind are primarily going to fall on the students. There are many components that factor into school budget shortfalls and the Lake Superior district is not alone in facing such challenges.
Reasons for the budgetary shortfall are varied and frankly, complicated. According to the data presented at the meeting, as of 2024, there were around 1642 “resident students” living in the Lake Superior District. 1264 of those students attend district schools. The remaining students are homeschooled or are pursuing their education in alternative settings. The State of Minnesota spends approximately $11,000 on “per pupil expenditures” for students enrolled in district schools. From fiscal year 2021 to 2024, the Lake Superior District saw a decline of 93 students, leading to a loss of $1.2 million in funds. This year alone, there has been a decline of 44 students attending LSSD schools.
The overall picture of how we fund public education in this country suggests that approximately 11% of funding for K-12 education comes from the Federal Government while 45% and 44% come respectively from State and Local funding sources.
The district has recently made investments using ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) Funds to update district bus transportation and provide computer technology for students. With the use of ESSER funds, these investments have helped the district save around $1,500,000 in needed improvements that did not come out of the operating budget.
Knowing that a funding shortfall was on the horizon, district administrators began to look at ways to trim costs, which will be achieved primarily by reducing full time staff positions. What follows is a draft overview of reductions and there may be additional reductions and additions that are not included at present.
Two Harbors High School will cut three General Ed. 6th Grade Teachers and a Paraprofessional position. These reductions will total $285,000.
Minnehaha Elementary School will cut one General Ed. Teacher and one General Ed. Specialist. Reductions will total $160,000.
William Kelley Schools will cut Paraprofessional hours for a total reduction of $5,000.
Additionally, a Transportation Director position will be cut for a reduction of $30,000, a Finance Assistant position will be cut for a reduction of $50,000 and the reduction of a bus route next year will save $40,000.
Though no specific decision was made at the meeting with regard to adopting the proposed fiscal adjustments, there are clearly some difficult decisions that will be forthcoming, as evidenced by the concern shown on the faces of the parents and teaching staff who attended the meeting.
Truthfully, we should all be concerned about the systemic underfunding of public education at both the State and National level. As was expressed by one Board member, “We have to put the education of our kids at risk because we cannot get a country or a state that gives us the revenue to survive and educate the kids like we want to”.
Our public education system is run like a business and while sound business principles are good and necessary, we would do well to remember that public education is first and foremost an investment in our children and in our future. There are around 55.4 million public school students in the U.S. Their education provides us with citizens who can think critically and analytically, who are equipped to enter adulthood as productive members of society, and who create new knowledge through scientific, technological and economic advancements.
As Teacher Appreciation Week comes to a close, it is worthwhile to note that a civil society and a functioning democracy are not possible without an educated population. It should also be noted that contract negotiations between district teachers and the school board remain ongoing.
Superintendent Belcastro encouraged meeting attendees to look at Senate Bill 4995, which is currently before the Legislature. Bill 4995 is authored by Senator Grant Hauschild and others and is designed to increase financial aid to rural school districts by creating a tax based replacement aid, “whereby the state will send funding back to a school district if they have a voter approved Operating Referendum in place. The school district then uses this aid to reduce the total cost of the levy, which is then distributed across the real market value properties by the county auditor. The new tax base replacement aid creates a seasonal tax based adjustment factor based on the amount of seasonal property in the school district. That factor is used to generate the aid amount, if an Operating Referendum is approved”.
All residents who live in Lake County have a stake in the health, wellbeing and adequate funding of the Lake Superior School District.
