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Pequot Lakes board flags FY25 budget shortfall tied to declining enrollment
Summary
Finance Director Heidi Hagen told the board that decreased enrollment reduced revenue and created a FY25 deficit; trustees discussed cost containment measures and a planned Truth in Taxation hearing for Dec. 16, 2024.
At a Sept. 16 regular meeting of the Pequot Lakes Public Schools Board of Education, Finance Director Heidi Hagen and Superintendent Kurt Stumpf reported that declining student enrollment is contributing to a revenue shortfall projected in the district's FY25 budget.
Hagen and Stumpf outlined realized savings and potential strategies to reduce expenditures and increase revenue, including cost-containment work already underway. The board certified the district's maximum preliminary levy for 2024 payable in 2025 and set a Truth in Taxation public meeting for Dec. 16, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. to review tax impacts and levy details. "The board will present the levy as calculated by the Department of Education and discuss options during the Truth in Taxation meeting," the clerk's minutes state.
The meeting packet included a year-to-date enrollment report updated as of Sept. 4, 2024, which Hagen and Stumpf used to frame the budget discussion. Board members asked for continued reporting on goal areas in the district strategic plan, including staff retention and a safe, supportive environment, as context for staffing and program decisions.
