Current Update:
April 28 Board Meeting Presentation [PowerPoint presentation]

International Baccalaureate Programme Questions & Answers (added 3/24/08)
March 10 Board Meeting Presentation with Building and District Preliminary Budget Reduction Recommendations
Budget Quarterly Report
Out-of-District Tuition Analysis

Survey Results
Summary Survey Questions
How to Provide Feedback:
Feedback, comments and ideas are welcome throughout the budget reduction process. Send an e-mail to supt.debra.bowers@slpschools.org

Why Budget Reductions are Necessary & Actions to Date
At the December 10 St. Louis Park School Board meeting, district administration presented the Board with information regarding the process that will be used to address the budget shortfall for the 2008-2009 school year. Input from district staff, parents and community members will be key to determining how to reduce the 2008-2009 budget by approximately $1.4 million.

As community members it is very important that you understand why it is necessary for the district to make such a substantial budget reduction. And we really need to hear your thoughts as difficult decisions are made about how to reduce the budget. Informational meetings were held in each building for staff in early January, as well at three community meetings.

As with any business or homeowner, we periodically review our budget and make adjustments based on the money we actually spent and received. We've just completed an internal audit of our 2006-07 budget and found some areas where expenses came in much higher than anticipated. These overages have occurred for a number of reasons, including cost increases, federal accounting rules and changes in state reimbursement processes.

We are acting immediately to make the necessary adjustments, as well as instituting systems to help us track budget issues more effectively in the future. We are fortunate to have a fund balance that can cover the overages, but we need to reinstate the fund balance as soon as possible to remain fiscally responsible. This will require additional budget reductions over the next few years.

The areas where expenses exceeded revenue are:

• Federal accounting rules require that we count a portion of retirement expenses in the year a staff member retires, as opposed to when the expense is actually paid to the employee. Due to varying interpretations of this rule, this had not been done for the past several years, resulting in a net adjustment of $250,000 this year.

• Special education expenses - both for educating students and for transporting them - exceeded our budget allocations. Cost increases from the special education service providers and the special education bus contractor, late receipt of invoices from providers, as well as changes in state reimbursement processes contributed to the overages. We are obligated to meet the needs of all students. While we can never exactly predict these expenses, we are instituting systems to help us monitor them more closely. The result was a $507,000 tuition overage (a portion of this overage was for regular education tuition) and a $200,000 transportation overage.

• Unemployment tax expenses and unemployment tax revenue had been put into different fund balance accounts, creating a negative balance in one of the accounts. This has now been corrected, and will require a $174,000 adjustment.

Based on our current cost projections and only a one-percent increase in state funding for the next year, it is clear we need to make additional cuts to improve our financial situation. Our goal is to provide the highest-quality education possible within our means.

We are gathering input so that budget reduction scenarios can be developed to address our financial concerns. The board - in concert with our community - will then determine the best and most prudent course for St Louis Park students and families.

2006-07 Financial Audit
Minnesota Department of Education School District Expenditure Comparisons
History of District Budget Reductions