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Albert Lea school finance director warns of tightening budget as enrollment falls
Summary
District finance staff told a task force that multi-year enrollment declines, rising non-discretionary costs and mandated special-education staffing are squeezing finances; staff recommended a capacity study, task force work and community engagement before any decisions on closures or reorganizing.
Paul Durban, finance director for the Albert Lea Public School District, told a district task force the district faces a multi-year decline in enrollment that will reduce revenue because school funding is driven by adjusted pupil units (APUs) tied to average daily membership (ADM). He said the district's revenue formulas track student attendance, not seat count, and that recent end-of-year MARS data lowered projected APUs compared with July projections.
"Our expenditures are mostly salaries and benefits," Durban said, adding that staffing is the primary budget driver and "you cannot cut your way out of this" was repeated by a…
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