Board hears midyear budget update: $768,000 of state-aid lift and $474,000 net fund-balance increase projected

The St. Louis Park School Board received an update on April 28 from Director Magnuson on midyear budget assumptions and planning for fiscal 2027, with no formal action taken at the meeting. Magnuson said revenues are expected to increase by $768,000—driven in part by state aid tied to higher enrollment—and expenditures will rise by $293,900, producing a projected net fund-balance increase of about $474,000.

Magnuson said the revenue increase includes state general-education funding and compensatory/English-learner revenue reflecting enrollment growth, and that the district has built a contingency to reflect patterns in delinquent and uncollectible property-tax receipts. "When we closed the books last year, we're starting to see an uptick in delinquent and uncollectible taxes," Magnuson said, explaining a conservative property-tax assumption.

On the expense side, Magnuson noted increases in purchase services—including substitute-teacher costs, contracted transportation and potential utility spikes—and one additional contract to be approved at a future session. He described options around how the district reports and calculates fund balance, recommending alignment with the Minnesota Department of Education's unreserved fund-balance calculation and noting that including an assigned severance reserve affects comparability.

Magnuson reported last year's ending fund balance of $10,861,864 and explained that the district's unassigned/unreserved fund-balance percentage will change depending on whether prior board-assigned severance amounts are included in the calculation. He summarized finance-advisory recommendations to target an unreserved fund balance above 8%, noting that some peers hold higher reserves.

No vote was required at the meeting; Magnuson said the board will be asked to approve the midyear assumptions at its May 12 meeting and that detailed line-item updates will follow at June meetings.