Prior Lake‑Savage presentations show $5 million in cuts since 2019–20, fewer curriculum specialists and growing mandate costs

District administrators presented a staffing and budget update showing roughly $5 million in reductions since the 2019–20 school year, with $4 million cut in the most recent year. School leaders said those cuts have reduced nonclassroom support positions that help curriculum delivery and teacher coaching.

Why it matters: Administration warned board members that future reductions will affect statutorily required programs and essential services, reduce capacity for professional development and increase workloads for remaining staff, with downstream effects on student supports and instructional improvement.

The presentation summarized the district’s recent actions and remaining capacity: the district used about $5 million from reserves since 2019–20; last year’s reductions totaled approximately $4 million (about a 3.3 percent overall reduction). Staff said district office departments reduced roughly $1.2 million (4.7 percent of department budgets) and administrative positions were cut by a little over $500,000 (about 5.6 percent). Enrollment‑based adjustments accounted for about $1.8 million.

Administrators described program‑level staffing losses: elimination of an assistant superintendent position earlier, the loss of roughly three full‑time tech support/integration roles that had supported buildings, and reductions that removed two differentiation specialists and consolidated separate elementary and secondary curriculum specialist roles into a single K‑12 curriculum specialist. A staff presenter summarized the effect: "the number of bodies that we have, available to support the work in the area of academic services ... is significantly less than it was in the year 2021." The presentation noted teacher‑on‑special‑assignment (TOSA) roles and peer‑coach models had been used as partial mitigations.

Administrators and board members discussed quantified mandate exposures and other costs. District staff provided examples and approximate figures during the meeting: ESST exposure could be about $308,000 if treated as entirely new leave; paid family medical leave exposure was described in the range of $312,000 to $425,000 depending on final rates; and mandated REED Act training and related obligations could amount to roughly $1,000,000 in the district under certain scenarios. A staff presenter also estimated potential curriculum replacement costs at $200,000–$500,000 depending on the committee’s direction. District staff cautioned those figures are approximate and dependent on implementation decisions and contract language.

The presentation flagged reporting‑and‑data issues that complicate comparisons with other districts: the state STAR report changes definitions year to year, which can make longitudinal staffing comparisons misleading without consistent definitions. Staff urged careful use of external reports and said the district will continue cleaning up Skyward data fields used to report FTE by building.

Operational impacts listed in the presentation included larger class sizes and reduced in‑school supports if additional reductions are required, fewer building administrative assistants (which can delay operations and reduce teacher support), and limits on the district’s ability to fund ongoing professional development during contract time if mandates require outside‑of‑contract work.

Next steps: Staff said they will bring a more detailed reduction list and staffing model options to the board later in the meeting and follow up with trustees on priorities. The administration also committed to provide lawmakers the district’s mandate list and more granular cost estimates to support legislative advocacy.