Shakopee Public Schools outlines $7M–$9M budget gap; board to consider operating-levy questions and $3M in cuts

Shakopee Public School District Superintendent Dr. Dan Redmond told the school board Monday that the district faces a projected $7 million to $9 million operating deficit for the 2026–27 school year, driven by declining enrollment and state funding that has not kept pace with inflation.

The district is recommending a set of expenditure adjustments totaling $3 million that leadership describes as largely the result of continuing enrollment declines. Redmond said the board should be prepared on June 23 to decide whether to place one or two operating-levy questions on the Nov. 4 ballot to raise new revenue or instead adopt deeper budget cuts.

Why it matters: the board’s choice will determine whether the district attempts to replace lost state purchasing power and avoid steeper, recurring cuts to classrooms and programs. Redmond and finance staff presented revenue-and-cut scenarios that would require $8 million in total reductions unless voters approve new levies.

District leaders outlined the tradeoffs and timing. A single, tax-neutral question tied to shifting bond payments to operations could generate roughly $5 million in new revenue under current estimates; an additional question that takes the district to the statutory cap could add roughly $2.3 million more. Redmond noted those per‑pupil estimates may change slightly when Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) cap calculations are finalized in late June.

Board members and staff discussed how cuts typically fall across the budget. Redmond and finance director Bill Minhazy said about 80% of the general fund is payroll and benefits, so any meaningful reductions would affect positions or staffing. Special education obligations and maintenance-of-effort requirements limit savings in mandated programs. Redmond emphasized that some programmed reductions are already automatic with enrollment decreases (for example, fewer bus routes) while other reductions would require broader across‑the‑board adjustments.

Board members asked for clearer specifics on where cuts would come from if levies fail. Redmond and Minhazy said leadership can prepare draft reduction scenarios and that the June 23 meeting would be used to set direction for ballot language and next steps. The team recommended preparing: (1) $3 million in expenditure adjustments; (2) a first operating-levy question (estimated at about $620 per pupil in current planning); and (3) a second question to reach the levy cap (estimated at roughly $288 per pupil additional under current projections), with final dollar figures to be confirmed after MDE publishes cap calculations around June 30.

If the board does not obtain roughly $5 million in new revenue, Redmond said the district would likely need another $5 million in cuts in addition to the $3 million already identified — roughly $8 million in total, or about 6.5% of the general fund. That, he warned, would force program and staffing reductions beyond those already planned.

"We need to be clear with the community: this is a multi‑year challenge," Redmond said during the presentation. "Preparing levy language and draft cuts now allows us to be transparent and deliberate about choices for the 2026–27 budget." (Exact quote excerpted from transcript.)

Next steps: district leadership will prepare levy-question drafts and more detailed reduction scenarios for the board to consider at the June 23 meeting; final cap figures will be incorporated after state calculations are available.