District details $5.2M in proposed cuts and strategic investments; staff propose new elementary TA model

District leaders presented a priority-based budget plan that would reduce or reallocate about $5.2 million for the 2026'27 fiscal year while preserving investments aligned to literacy, equity and student supports.

Superintendent Funk and Chief Financial and instructional leaders told the board that enrollment declines (losses to online providers, homeschooling and PSO), higher special-education costs, rising substitute and paid-family-leave expenses, and limited fund-balance capacity are driving the forecasted shortfalls. "We've cut about $7 million in the last two years," Chair Sherman said during introductory remarks; administrators said an additional roughly $5.2 million in adjustments is required to present a balanced budget.

To reduce pressure on classroom instruction while managing costs, administrators proposed a new elementary staffing model that retains existing class-size ranges but adds trained teaching assistants (TAs) in classrooms that exceed the upper size range by a few students. The district argued this approach avoids creating new full sections mid-year, keeps teachers focused on a single grade-level curriculum (important as the district rolls out new literacy and math materials) and provides a mechanism to react to fluctuating enrollment. Staff estimated the initial rollout could add roughly a dozen TA-supported classrooms and generate savings when scaled across all elementary sites.

The proposal also includes: shifting some middle-school athletics and activities to community education (fee-based) to reduce district transportation and staffing costs while continuing offerings; reorganizing some secondary staffing and ALC roles; modifying special-education case-load and related-service models; and targeting non-salary efficiency areas such as transportation routing, software subscriptions, and travel. Administrators said some costs will increase irrespective of cuts (notably substitutes and Minnesota paid-family-leave payroll exposure), and they noted certain items considered but not included yet (e.g., cuts to security or major program eliminations) because the board identified them as high-cost and high-impact.

Staff emphasized the district intends to protect core literacy and student-support investments. The board will be asked to approve staff-reduction lists and a proposed budget in the coming weeks; administrators said they will continue community engagement and detailed program-level conversations before final votes.