North Branch Area Public Schools (NBAPS) and the problems it faces due to inequitable funding from the state is no secret. It used to be, outside our district it wasn’t widely known. But we have gone to great lengths to bring the plight of the district to the attention of policy makers.
A year ago I wrote the governor Pawlenty personally to describe our circumstances and seek change. We recently were featured in a front page story in the Star Tribune about inadequate funding and what can result. Never before has the district’s situation been more in the public consciousness than it is at this very moment.
As a community and district, we have a historic opportunity in front of us right now and I hope I can ask of all of you a small favor. Please call your legislators.
I know it is said so often it is almost trite. But I could not be more serious.
We have a new governor, and a new legislature with a new majority, and things are happening at the state at an almost frantic pace. It has been some time since education and funding have been more a topic of discussion.
Our legislators are acutely aware of the problem and are looking for solutions to help us. We hear from them regularly regarding different bills and means to give NBAPS students a level playing field.
It is doubtful we will see additional funding in the near future, and we may yet experience a cut at the state level. At the same time, there are promising signs that the legislature “gets it,” and is looking for ways to correct the problem.
Legislators representing our district include Rep. Bob Barrett, Rep. Kurt Daudt, and Sen. Sean Nienow. They need to hear from you as soon as possible. Let them know that we appreciate their efforts and await the change we so desperately need.
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Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Many Flags this weekend
Community Education is again hosting its Many Flags of North Branch tonight, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Sunrise River. I hope you can attend this event, it is packed with great food, crafts, and fun! Click on the flyer above to see the details.
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The 2011-12 budget process
One thing not often discussed when the district addresses budgets is the process that goes into the final recommendation.
Budgeting is ongoing all year, with sites paying close attention to expenditures, looking for ways to be more efficient. In fact, NBAPS schools are some of the most accountable in the state for their budgets.
The process of preparing a budget recommendation for the school board gets seriously underway in January when district leaders convene Budget Boot Camp, a comprehensive look at the district and possibilities for savings and reductions.
Once annual audits are complete, we are able to forecast the next year’s deficit, which is presented to the school board at a work session.
Between that work session and the final recommendation, each site in the district is given a projection of enrollment decline for the next year as well as a reduction amount. At NBAPS, the “money follows the student,” which means that each site bases next year’s budget on how many students we expect they will serve. In this way we ensure every student receives his or her fair allotment of funding from the state to the best of our ability.
The district is also receiving input from the community and staff during this time, and while not all suggestions are feasible, there have been many suggestions from the public the district has embraced. Some of those examples include closing the Main Street School, reducing Middle School activities, and the four-day week.
The final recommendation is presented to the school board for consideration as a whole. The reason for that is the recommendation’s complexity. Each cut potentially affects many other areas of the budget and considering the budget line by line isn’t feasible. Making cuts in one area can result in additional expenses in another.
The district conducts a public hearing on the recommendation (March 10 this year), and the school board is afforded time to study the recommendation, offer suggestions, and ask questions prior to its final approval later in March.
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Read more!
Budgeting is ongoing all year, with sites paying close attention to expenditures, looking for ways to be more efficient. In fact, NBAPS schools are some of the most accountable in the state for their budgets.
The process of preparing a budget recommendation for the school board gets seriously underway in January when district leaders convene Budget Boot Camp, a comprehensive look at the district and possibilities for savings and reductions.
Once annual audits are complete, we are able to forecast the next year’s deficit, which is presented to the school board at a work session.
Between that work session and the final recommendation, each site in the district is given a projection of enrollment decline for the next year as well as a reduction amount. At NBAPS, the “money follows the student,” which means that each site bases next year’s budget on how many students we expect they will serve. In this way we ensure every student receives his or her fair allotment of funding from the state to the best of our ability.
The district is also receiving input from the community and staff during this time, and while not all suggestions are feasible, there have been many suggestions from the public the district has embraced. Some of those examples include closing the Main Street School, reducing Middle School activities, and the four-day week.
The final recommendation is presented to the school board for consideration as a whole. The reason for that is the recommendation’s complexity. Each cut potentially affects many other areas of the budget and considering the budget line by line isn’t feasible. Making cuts in one area can result in additional expenses in another.
The district conducts a public hearing on the recommendation (March 10 this year), and the school board is afforded time to study the recommendation, offer suggestions, and ask questions prior to its final approval later in March.
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Friday, February 4, 2011
Finding cuts is more challenging
The 2011-12 budget season began in earnest last Thursday, Jan. 27, at the school board working session. Unfortunately, I am not able to report any changes since last budget season. The state still has not adjusted the funding formula and the trend over the last few years of declining enrollment continues, and is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
The total deficit for next year is $2.4 million and the process of finding reductions in a budget that has been cut to the bone since 2003-04 has already begun. For the third year I conducted Budget Boot Camp, a comprehensive study of district business in hopes savings previously undiscovered can be found.
The previous two years of Budget Boot Camp resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings; unfortunately those kinds of savings are not readily available to the district anymore.
The school board took a big step in addressing the severity of cuts last Thursday when they provided consensus to use the district’s $700,000 in federal stimulus money, and another $200,000 in staff development carrryover, reducing the deficit to $1.5 million immediately. There may be other funds available to the district to further alleviate the reductions, but the matter requires careful study.
While the use of those funds gives the district relief from cuts for next year, stimulus and staff development funds are “one-time” funds that the district will not have at its disposal the following year. That means that more will need to be cut from subsequent budgets.
The good news is that the district has budgeted wisely over the years and, as a result, has been able to build its fund balance again, and options like the OPEB (other post-employment benefits) trust create relief for the general fund.
Please monitor the district website (www.northbranch.k12.mn.us) for budget information and important dates as they become available. Between now and mid-March the district is accepting input. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
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The total deficit for next year is $2.4 million and the process of finding reductions in a budget that has been cut to the bone since 2003-04 has already begun. For the third year I conducted Budget Boot Camp, a comprehensive study of district business in hopes savings previously undiscovered can be found.
The previous two years of Budget Boot Camp resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings; unfortunately those kinds of savings are not readily available to the district anymore.
The school board took a big step in addressing the severity of cuts last Thursday when they provided consensus to use the district’s $700,000 in federal stimulus money, and another $200,000 in staff development carrryover, reducing the deficit to $1.5 million immediately. There may be other funds available to the district to further alleviate the reductions, but the matter requires careful study.
While the use of those funds gives the district relief from cuts for next year, stimulus and staff development funds are “one-time” funds that the district will not have at its disposal the following year. That means that more will need to be cut from subsequent budgets.
The good news is that the district has budgeted wisely over the years and, as a result, has been able to build its fund balance again, and options like the OPEB (other post-employment benefits) trust create relief for the general fund.
Please monitor the district website (www.northbranch.k12.mn.us) for budget information and important dates as they become available. Between now and mid-March the district is accepting input. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
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Wednesday, February 2, 2011
We appreciate the conversation
Education Minnesota president Tom Dooher was gracious enough to visit our district last week and meet with teachers and myself to talk about public education issues, the state, and how North Branch fits into the equation.
We talked about current legislation and how, if passed, North Branch Area Public Schools (NBAPS) would be affected. We also talked about how dedicated NBAPS staff is and how incredibly the staff as a whole has weathered budget cuts and failed levies, and persevered. More than perseverance though, this staff has excelled at making the very best of our situation and maintained an environment that allows students the opportunity to thrive.
Perhaps most importantly, we discussed the very crucial issues facing NBAPS. You can’t live in our district and not know the primary issue we face; state funding. The current general funding formula is organized to reward the districts with great property wealth while district like ours, with little commercial industrial property and high tax burdens, are punished. There are systems in place to assist districts with great poverty, but those don’t help us either.
Essentially, NBAPS exists in a place in which we don’t have the wealth to subsidize our state funding, and we don’t have poverty enough for the state to subsidize the district.
We also talked about the spiral affecting the district; we are forced to cut programs and people are encouraged to look elsewhere for education, which in turn impacts enrollment and requires the district to make more cuts.
Dooher expressed great understanding about our issues and promised to continue carrying our message.
Will you join him? We have new representation at the state level and they need to hear from all of us about how important it is to solve this problem; solve it for our community and solve it for our children, who’s education suffers more with each passing year.
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We talked about current legislation and how, if passed, North Branch Area Public Schools (NBAPS) would be affected. We also talked about how dedicated NBAPS staff is and how incredibly the staff as a whole has weathered budget cuts and failed levies, and persevered. More than perseverance though, this staff has excelled at making the very best of our situation and maintained an environment that allows students the opportunity to thrive.
Perhaps most importantly, we discussed the very crucial issues facing NBAPS. You can’t live in our district and not know the primary issue we face; state funding. The current general funding formula is organized to reward the districts with great property wealth while district like ours, with little commercial industrial property and high tax burdens, are punished. There are systems in place to assist districts with great poverty, but those don’t help us either.
Essentially, NBAPS exists in a place in which we don’t have the wealth to subsidize our state funding, and we don’t have poverty enough for the state to subsidize the district.
We also talked about the spiral affecting the district; we are forced to cut programs and people are encouraged to look elsewhere for education, which in turn impacts enrollment and requires the district to make more cuts.
Dooher expressed great understanding about our issues and promised to continue carrying our message.
Will you join him? We have new representation at the state level and they need to hear from all of us about how important it is to solve this problem; solve it for our community and solve it for our children, who’s education suffers more with each passing year.
(end)
Read more!
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