District presents preliminary FY26 budget plan with $2.3M adjustments; rightsizing and fees proposed

Burnsville Public School District staff outlined a first-draft FY2026 budget plan and the district’s financial strategy at the board’s March 13 work session. Chief financial assumptions presented included a 2.74% increase to the state formula allowance and an estimated 5% increase in district medical insurance costs; the presentation put net assumptions and programmatic adjustments at roughly $2.3 million.

Key elements presented by district finance staff and the superintendent included:

- Rightsizing classroom staffing to reflect enrollment trends, yielding an estimated reduction of about 8.55 FTEs (roughly $850,000) if fewer sections are needed. - A package of strategic investments and restricted-fund uses (school-within-a-school, attendance programs, targeted compensatory and ALC-funded positions) that together reshape staffing allocations while seeking to preserve class-size targets. - Proposals to adjust secondary walking distances for bus eligibility from 1.5 miles to up to 2.0 miles, estimated to reduce transportation costs (staff estimated roughly $136,000 in savings if implemented); district staff noted families could still opt in for paid bus service where appropriate and suggested a pilot or administrative process would be necessary. - Modest fee adjustments for athletics and transportation and the creation of a voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) sliding-fee structure that considers household income; the VPK fee proposal would produce an estimated $90,000 in revenue based on current assumptions. - Capital-maintenance proposals and a recommendation to use restricted long-term facility funds to replace building systems (pumps, fixtures) on a predictable schedule rather than ad-hoc repairs. - Targeted technology and staffing changes such as adding hours to media EAs to improve device distribution and two additional FTE-equivalents in media support (estimated $72,000) and third-party billing to support a student services accounting specialist with estimated savings of about $130,000.

Presenters said compensatory funding legislation at the Legislature could materially change the picture: restoring an assumed compensatory aid increase would raise the district’s unassigned fund balance materially (presenters said it could move unassigned balance from about 8% up into the high teens under some scenarios). The superintendent and finance director cautioned that state and federal funding uncertainty — including the still-unsettled House and Senate proposals and ongoing questions about federal funds — make the plan preliminary.

Board members asked detailed questions about the insurance increase (medical insurance only), comparative athletics and transportation fees, how walking-distance changes would be administered and whether fee changes would be covered under educational benefits for eligible families. Staff said many fee proposals would be eligible for waivers under educational-benefits forms and that administrative processes could address family hardship. The presentation will be followed by community meetings, a feedback period and additional board briefings in April and May before the board adopts an FY26 budget by state deadlines in June.

No budget decisions were adopted at the March 13 session; the board directed staff to continue public outreach and return with refinements.