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Little Falls district presents task-force ideas as enrollment decline pressures budget and facilities
Summary
Superintendent Johnson told the board that falling enrollment and rising costs have tightened the district's projected fund balance. A task force generated ideas including additional budget cuts, a referendum, a marketing/grant-writing position, a potential four-day week and possible school closures for board consideration.
Superintendent Johnson summarized a task-force review of finances and facilities and told the Little Falls Public School District Board of Education that declining enrollment and rising expenditures threaten the district's fund balance.
Johnson said the district currently serves 2,297 K–12 students and that special education enrollment rose from 583 to 627 students in the December head count this year—about 24% of the student body versus a state average near 19%. "Our spending in special ed increased by over $500,000 last year to support special education," he said.
The superintendent urged urgency, presenting a fund-balance forecast that shows the district could end fiscal 2025 with roughly $500,000–$600,000 if no new revenue or enrollment gains materialize and projected deficits thereafter that could put the district into negative balances by fiscal 2026–2029 if conditions do not change.
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