Wayzata reports historic high enrollment, new hires and budget uncertainty at back-to-school update

Superintendent Dr. Chase Anderson gave the board a districtwide back-to-school update at the Sept. 8 Wayzata Public School District Board of Education meeting, reporting that the high school has, for the first time in district history, topped 4,000 students and that the district’s K–12 enrollment has surpassed 13,000.

Anderson said the growth is driving facilities work, new hires and attention to state funding changes. "For the first time in our school district's history, our high school has surpassed that 4,009 through grade 9 through 12, student mark for the first time in the history of our district," he said.

The presentation summarized human-resources activity, curriculum priorities, facilities projects and emerging budget pressures. Anderson told the board the district hired about 164 new staff members this year and has roughly 1,500 total employees. He said 86 of the new hires were teachers who are being onboarded through the district’s new-teacher orientation and mentorship programs. The district also is piloting a student-data system, Abre, to track intervention and performance data.

Facilities work listed in the presentation included roof replacements, parking-lot and mechanical upgrades, and a West Middle School conversion that will create three new music rooms from roughly 13,000 square feet of former locker-room space. Anderson said district buildings total about 2,000,000 square feet on roughly 500 acres.

Anderson and finance staff flagged revenue uncertainty for the next state biennium. He described reductions to a recent state rollout of student-support funding and to special-education transportation reimbursement that together reduced district revenues by an estimated $500,000–$600,000 for 2025–26. He also described a statewide task force reviewing special-education costs, saying participants were discussing reductions that could total about $250 million statewide — a change that, if implemented, the superintendent said would create budgetary pressure for local districts.

Executive Director of Finance and Operations Trevor Peterson briefed the board on the district’s July combined financial reports and noted $60 million in general-fund investments and a small balance of construction-related abatements. Peterson said July activity is typically light for revenues because state aid is timed to annual enrollment reconciliation.

District operational statistics presented to the board included: about 85 buses (495 routes), 45 special-education buses (172 routes), roughly 90 custodians, about 1,500 total staff, and food-service volumes of approximately 1.6 million lunches and nearly 400,000 breakfasts last year. Anderson also noted the district’s OPEB (other post-employment benefits) trust was established about 17 years ago and remains funded.

Board members asked clarifying questions about fidelity checks for instructional interventions and staffing metrics; Anderson and his leadership team described classroom spot checks, coach-led observations and alignment to PLC work. Anderson said the district is monitoring enrollment closely and will provide additional updates if the board moves toward a facilities referendum.

The presentation closed with a back-to-school video and a reminder that the district work session is scheduled for Sept. 22 at 5 p.m.