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Schools warn that 'no' votes mean budget cuts
Educators predicted teacher layoffs and school closings if voters deny dozens of funding requests on the ballot this fall.
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Follow local news on TwitterUnless voters approve excess property tax requests this fall -- and the state increases aid to schools for 2008 -- more than 30 Twin Cities area school districts will have to slash $173 million from their budgets in 2008-09, prompting schools to close, teachers to lose their jobs and students to sit in more crowded classrooms, educators said Tuesday.
According to a survey conducted by the Association of Metropolitan School Districts and Schools for Equity in Education, last year's state funding increases provided a one-time boost for 2007 but will fail to stave off the likelihood of cuts in 2008.
As a result, 99 Minnesota school districts are going to the voters in three weeks to ask for help closing the funding gap. But even if voters approve all the requests to increase their property taxes, officials say Twin Cities area school districts would still face a cumulative shortfall of $50 million.
"We're basically begging for money," said Ted Blaesing, superintendent of the White Bear Lake schools, who added that this is the 12th time in his 15 years at the helm that his district has gone to voters for help. "It's a little bit like being nibbled to death by ducks."
It's become an annual rite of fall -- schools asking voters for money to preserve programs, avoid layoffs and keep class sizes manageable. But, officials argued Tuesday, they wouldn't need so much if the Legislature and the governor simply came up with more state cash for schools. At least, they said, the Legislature should tie state funding to inflation.
"We need at least the rate of inflation -- bottom line -- from our funding sources," said Ben Kanninen, superintendent of the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage schools. He added that voter-approved tax levies now account for 18 percent of his district's funding.
But state Education Commissioner Alice Seagren said paying for schools is supposed to be a partnership between the state and local communities.
"Operating referendums are an important part of Minnesota's proud tradition of local control. They give local citizens an opportunity to have a say in how the schools utilize local education resources," she said in an e-mail. "We encourage Minnesotans to participate in that process."
Seagren added that, with about 78 percent of all education revenues coming from the state, Minnesota ranks near the top nationally in the amount of revenue the state provides.
Struggling to keep up
In all, education spending accounts for nearly 40 percent of the state general fund budget, making it the state's largest expenditure. And, during the 2008-09 budget biennium, the state will spend about $14 billion in general fund dollars on K-12 education.
But there's a problem, local educators said Tuesday. Much of that money was front-loaded for 2007-08, helping make up for little or no funding gains in the past. But little of that money carries over to 2008-09, leaving schools scrambling to keep up with continually rising costs. In all, while state K-12 funding went up nearly 6.4 percent for this year, it climbs only 1.4 percent next year, said Scott Croonquist, executive director of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts.
The result seems to be a seemingly endless appeal to voters to make up the difference.
Unless White Bear Lake voters approve the upcoming levy, Blaesing said, the district will have to close five schools, slash music and art classes and increase average class sizes at the high school to 39 and to more than 32 in elementary schools.
"I think that's horribly wrong," Blaesing said. "I think that's misguided."
James Walsh • 651-298-1541
James Walsh • jwalsh@startribune.com
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