St. Paul school board gathers feedback on budget, including proposed cuts

Society members on Tuesday shared feedback on the St Paul school district s cash-strapped - budget with various objecting to proposed cuts to early childhood programs and family information The school board will see a proposed budget at its May meeting and district representatives have been hosting public informational meetings on the budget since late March Board members have until June to finalize the budget for the - school year and will vote on the proposal June The district estimates million in expenses in the coming school year with an estimated million budget shortfall The board has agreed to use million in reserve funds for the shortfall with the remaining million to come from budget cuts and new revenue according to the district Last year s St Paul General Schools budget shortfall was around million Cuts Initial staff reduction letters were distributed Friday for positions eliminated due to budget or non-renewal due to performance The district which as of February had full- and part-time staff attributes the budget shortfall to increased expenses such as increased employee wages and benefits rising costs of goods and services and no expected increases to state federal or local revenue to adjust for inflation outside of the base funding formula and local operating levy Parents and district members at Tuesday night s meeting spoke against cuts to Early Childhood Family Instruction or ECFE a voluntary undertaking for parents and their children below the age for kindergarten enrollment and Achievement Plus a private-public partnership between SPPS and the Amherst H Wilder Foundation that provides materials to families such as medical services and food help ECFE is facing proposed budget cuts of million in the upcoming budget and a reduction from six sites to four The Achievement Plus Initiative is set to end June according to Achievement Plus director Rick Gibson in a March declaration The end of Achievement Plus and its liaison role is a loss of a connection between schools and critical services such as housing assistance in-school dental care and summer programs SPPS parent Amber Rae Bernhardt stated at Tuesday meeting Cutting this venture is not a cost-saving measure it s a cost-shifting measure shifting the burden onto the backs of struggling families and underresourced schools Bernhardt explained Other parents urged the school board to consider the society and backing that ECFE has provided parents ECFE programs includes parent discussion groups early soundness and developmental screenings for children and home visits among other guidance I am sure you will have better students and citizens with more involved more prepared and more sound parents Do whatever it takes to find a budget even if it is asking for our help mentioned SPPS parent Liliana Sanchez Guidelines and next efforts The overall budget amount allocated to schools will increase by approximately or million in - This is primarily due to increased enrollment more students in special teaching and expanded middle school options according to the district SPPS saw an increase in enrollment for the - school year compared with last the first year in a decade it had higher enrollment than the year before Nearly all district revenue such as state aid and local property taxes is tied to enrollment The board has three guidelines for the budget which include sustaining funding for early teaching in order to retain and prepare students for elementary school sustaining funding for enrollment efforts and sustaining expenditures for increasing participant engagement and decreasing absenteeism The board will address Tuesday s group feedback at its May meeting The proposed budget will continue to be updated until its approval in June Feedback can be also shared on the district s website at tinyurl com exswt s Related Articles St Paul schools other districts cancel after-school exercises Monday due to weather Joe Soucheray Cutting the pittance set aside for private schools Typical Four guns exposed in and near St Paul high schools in a week s span Como Planetarium to celebrate years at April star party Boys basketball tournament Making its first state appearance Harding is doing it for everyone