Brookins warns enrollment shifts and charter growth are key budget risks for District 191

Budget considerations for Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191 featured prominently in the candidate interview. Doctor Tyrone Brookins told the board that enrollment is the primary driver of district revenue and that the district must plan across three time horizons: audited past-year results, current-year management and next-year forecasting.

Brookins said his current work includes long-range facilities planning and demographic analysis. He warned that charter expansion in a district can reduce enrollment and that Burnsville’s online high school and other enrollment-attraction strategies could be tools to offset losses.

“You look at enrollment, you look at projected enrollment, you look at your current reality, and you are planful and mindful of that,” Brookins said. He added that his current district modeled potential student losses — citing a local charter school that might affect as many as 500 students — and that the board should coordinate budgeting with a demographer and the finance director.

Brookins described budgeting as a layered process tied to strategic priorities and collective-bargaining obligations. He said leaders must identify nonnegotiable items related to the strategic plan, then prioritize additional layers of services based on available revenue and possible federal or local funding.

He also suggested strategies to increase revenue, such as expanding community education and recruiting open‑enrollment students into online programs, while cautioning that any recruitment strategy must be paired with accurate demographic forecasting.

The board did not take action during the interview; Brookins presented his approach and encouraged data-driven forecasting and community-focused recruitment to stabilize revenues.