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PELSB reports FY26 budget shortfall averted by carryover funds; unveils teacher-prep dashboard
Summary
PELSB staff reported a projected biennial shortfall of nearly $500,000 that could have cut 3–4 FTEs; a recent law allowing carryover of unspent funds enabled the agency to avoid layoffs. Staff also demonstrated a new teacher-preparation dashboard with disaggregation by enrollment, completers, licensure and hiring.
The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board received two operational updates Sept. 19: a FY26 budget briefing and a demonstration of a new teacher-preparation data dashboard.
Dr. Bailey told the board PELSB oversees roughly 105,000 licensed teachers (about 72,000 actively teaching in Minnesota) and some 38 teacher-preparation providers. The agency faces a projected biennial shortfall of approximately $500,000 that would have required cutting 3–4 full-time positions. A change in state law allowing agencies to carry over unspent funds from the previous biennium enabled PELSB to avoid layoffs; staff said carryover funds from vacancies and shifts in staffing will cover the gap for the next biennium, though long-term funding will require further legislative action.
Separately, data and policy specialist Kath Anthony Bridal and data and compliance specialist Karen Kester demonstrated a new public dashboard. The dashboard presents four primary pages — enrollment, completers, licensed and hired — with interactive slicers for program type, region and demographic groups, and masking rules for low-n cell counts. Staff said an accompanying written narrative report will provide more detailed statewide disaggregations by racial and demographic groups, while the dashboard supplies an accessible overview and tools to explore trends over three years.
Board members praised the dashboard’s flexibility and asked staff to expand it over time to include pathways (apprenticeship, residency, portfolio) and retention measures; staff said that expansion will take additional partnerships with districts and the Minnesota Department of Education.
