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Superintendent warns district could lose $1.5 million under new state counting; board directs administration to recommend reductions
Summary
South Saint Paul Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Zambrino told the school board that a recent change in state counting of compensatory (poverty) students could cut about $1.5 million in annual revenue and the board voted unanimously to direct administration to develop program- and position-reduction recommendations.
Superintendent Dr. Zambrino told the South Saint Paul School Board on Feb. 24 that a change in how the state counts students eligible for compensatory (poverty) funding could reduce the district's compensatory revenue from about $4.5 million to roughly $3 million, a loss of about $1.5 million.
"If nothing changes and we only count direct certified students, we're gonna go from 4,500,000 to 3,000,000, and we're gonna lose 1,500,000," Dr. Zambrino said, describing the Department of Education's new practice of relying on direct certifications from county benefit rolls rather than including families who file free/reduced-price applications.
The superintendent said the district's actual incidence of students qualifying through applications is about 58 percent, versus a 42 percent direct-certification count the state is currently using. He told the board that the governor has proposed a one-year…
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