The Brainerd School District, in recent years, has received its share of criticism as it has negotiated its way through the minefield of shaky state funding, protracted employee negotiations and economic uncertainty.
So, let’s give credit to the school board and district administrators for heads-up management when it’s appropriate. News of how the school has managed its finances in these turbulent times merits a pat on the back. About $2.5 million in one-time federal stimulus funds, which the school district has used for about 75 staffing positions, will be exhausted at the end of the school year.
The Brainerd School District faces a $2.4 million budget deficit as we begin this year, with no federal funds expected to bail it out. Fortunately, the school district is as prepared as it can be for this dire situation. It has been using its unreserved fund balance to offset the deficit. That fund balance reached 13.44 percent during the 2009-10 school year and the school district received criticism for maintaining such a high balance. The balance will now drop to a projected 8.9 percent or $7.95 million by June 30.
The wise decision to maintain a healthy reserve fund will give the district a little breathing room as they await the money-strapped Minnesota Legislature’s decisions on state school funding.
Good planning will help take a little bit of the sting out of what will be a challenging year.
Comments (6)
Add commentI have kids in these schools
I have kids in these schools but I agree that they should have saved the money. What ever happened to living within your means? If our government (fed all the way down to county) lived the way Milwaukee was built then we wouldn't be in this mess. We spend what we have and only what we have. No credit just make do with what you have. I can say this because this is how I live. I don't live on credit. I live within my means. Extras a nice, very nice but we don't get them here. Maybe our school needs to really rethink the extras.
The facts for Herc.
The stimulus money that ISD181 received from the federal government was not a bailout it was a stimulus. If they did not spend the money specifically on more teachers they would not have received it. It was meant to be spent to put more teachers to work, our district wisely used it to help reduce the rediculously large class sizes at the elementary level.
I don't think the district is waiting for a "bailout" from the State, they just want to know at what level they are going to get funding. Once they know they can go to work to set a budget that they can live within. In the last three years they have built a fund reserve, while funding has declined. They reduced expenses, layed off staff and leveraged stimulus money to reduce class size. I would call that living within their means.