Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan district budget proposes job cuts

The south metro area's largest school district could shed the equivalent of nearly 150 full-time jobs -- 80 of them classroom teaching positions -- under a plan designed to patch its budget for next year.

Administrators in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan district on Tuesday unveiled a proposed combination of budget cuts and revenue boosts totaling $15.6 million for 2010-11.

"In our district, we've not had to cut people in a very long time, and so when I think about people losing their jobs and what does that mean to the quality of programming, that is most concerning to me," said Superintendent Jane Berenz.

The district is collecting public feedback on the proposed cuts this month, and the school board is expected to vote on them March 29.

As word of the cuts trickles down to parents, "I think reality is starting to set in," said Gail Lentsch, co-president of the Parent Teacher Organization at Pinewood Community School in Eagan. "No one really wins out of this," she said, adding that she plans to attend one of several focus groups the district is organizing to hear from parents, teachers and community leaders on Feb. 16 and 18. "It's harder for the teachers to teach with higher classroom sizes; it's harder for the kids that need extra special help."

About half of the district's proposed budget changes -- nearly $8 million -- would come through cutting staff, by far the biggest expense in the district of 27,500 students. Employee salaries and benefits make up nearly 85 percent of this year's $298 million general fund budget.

The equivalent of 150 full-time jobs would be cut under the plan, but that doesn't mean 150 people will be laid off, said district spokesman Tony Taschner. That's partly because normal retirements and resignations would account for some of the reduction, he said.

Cuts to teaching positions would put an average of two more kids in every classroom. Right now the district has one teacher for every 27 students in elementary school, every 22 in middle school, and every 24 in high school.

The district calculated the savings at $55,858 per teaching position -- the cost of salary and benefits for one new teacher.

The equivalent of another 34 licensed staff positions -- specialists in art, music, technology and the like -- would be sliced under the plan, along with 35 administrators, secretaries and other employees.

The district also proposes shaving spending on teacher training, nursing, student testing and more. A drug awareness program for fifth graders, DARE, would be cut. The district would offer 50 percent less in scholarships for its Kindergarten Plus program. Three middle school sports -- football, baseball and softball -- would be eliminated, with local athletic associations taking them over.

The district plans to come up with an additional $3.5 million in new revenue next year, partly by tapping into a fund that helps cover health insurance costs for retired employees. The budget proposal also calls for raising admission and fees for everything from sports to parking permits, driver's education classes and band instrument rental. Middle school athletes would pay $100 in participation fees, for example, up from $50.

The Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school board chose $15.6 million as its budget target after considering a number of possible scenarios for future state funding, the most optimistic of which was no cuts and no new revenue for education. The current plan assumes that state funding to education will be cut by 5 percent next year, though Superintendent Berenz said that figure is an educated guess. Recent rumblings about what the Legislature may do vary "anywhere from 'held harmless' to [cuts of] 9 percent," she said.

But cuts -- this spring and in years to come -- are "a strong reality," she said. "If the forecasts are true ... it's going to get worse."

Sarah Lemagie • 952-882-9016