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Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) is finalizing the fiscal year 2025 (FY25) budget. As has been widely communicated, SPPS is facing a shortfall of over $100 million for next year due in large part to the expiration of federal COVID relief funds, years of declining enrollment, and increasing expenses. District leaders have spent the past several months determining how to close this budget gap while ensuring our students, schools, staff, and families continue to receive the support they need to succeed in the next school year and beyond.

The budgeting process began with public engagement with students, staff and families throughout 2023 to discuss what our community values in education. For a summary of what we heard, please refer to the FY25 Budget Engagement Summary.

The primary community values and instructional priority identified through this engagement were used to inform budget decisions at both the individual school and district levels and serve as one of the four building blocks of the FY25 budget. The other three building blocks that must be funded are: 

• School needs, which include essential school staff such as principals, teachers, and support staff to meet required class size limits and staff-to-student ratios

• Requirements and obligations, such as employment contracts, state statutes, and federal laws that dictate what services school districts must provide

• Essential services that are needed to support the district’s schools and programs, including human resources, transportation, utilities, technology, and many other necessary functions. 

Board of Education Budget Update

On May 21, the SPPS Board of Education received a draft of the FY25 budget. You can view the full presentation here. 

At this time, there is still a budget gap of $37 million for next year. The district anticipates using some of its fund balance, also referred to as reserves, to fill this budget gap. SPPS must keep its fund balance above 5% per Board policy. This anticipated use of reserve funds would leave approximately $36.4 million in the fund balance or 5.07%. Without additional revenue and/or a decrease in expenses, SPPS will need to make additional budget reductions in future years.

The Board of Education will receive the final budget at the June 18 Board of Education meeting. The FY25 budget has to be approved by the Board of Education by the end of June 2024.

School Budget Information

All SPPS schools and departments received their budgets for the 2024-25 school year and have begun planning for anticipated changes. By now, your school should have held a meeting or otherwise shared budget information and impacts for next year. If you have questions about how budget changes will impact your school, please contact your school’s principal.

Previous budget updates and other information, including school and department budget allocations, can be found at spps.org/fy25budget. You can also use the FY25 Budget Feedback form to submit comments or questions regarding the FY25 budget.