|  | Saint Paul Public Schools 2008-09 budget approved
6/20/2008 10:05 AMMedia Release
Office of Community Relations
Contact: Brett Johnson - (651) 767-8107
June 20, 2008
Saint Paul, Minn – Saint Paul Public Schools’ Board of Education approved at its regular meeting June 17 the $628 million total budget for the 2008-09 school year. It includes $476 million of expenses for the General Fund, the largest part of the budget that includes the K-12 education program for student achievement.
The district faced a $10 million shortfall for this budget year due to primarily to declining enrollment. Saint Paul Public Schools, along with many school districts in Minnesota, are experiencing a period of declining enrollment due to an aging population, smaller families and other demographic shifts. Public schools are funded on a per pupil basis in Minnesota, so this means fewer resources throughout the district.
Late in the budgeting process, Saint Paul Public Schools received $2.3 million in new revenue as a result of Legislative action. These funds helped offset the shortfall. The district had a contingency plan for this revenue. The largest portion of these funds will provide instructional coaches at Saint Paul Public Schools. Instructional coaches are a best practice for professional development for teachers. Teachers receive the benefit of real-time training without taking them out of their classrooms.
Additionally, the contingency money will support school program changes, leadership training for schools and district departments, development of the “ideal day” as proposed in the teacher’s union contract, and a districtwide program for consistent student behavior management.
To balance the budget, the district split program and service reductions between school budgets and centrally funded programs. Most centrally funded programs have a direct affect on schools, like the English Language Learner department and Special Education.
School budgets are developed with input from site councils and this year the district sought public input on its budget proposal at a hearing in May and collected results of an online survey that outlined proposed reductions.
For additional information about the budget input process, click here.
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