My wife brought this home today and as it does not say confidential or
restricted I feel justified in sharing it with other Mpls persons. The
original letter was scanned and OCRed so all the fancy stuff on the
letterhead had to be sacrificed.
January 23, 2001
To all Minneapolis Public Schools staff:
As we enter the 2001 legislative session, I felt it important to
communicate with all staff regarding our projected budget shortfall for
the 2001-2002 school year and how seriously the district will be
affected.
The Governor's proposed budget offers very little new money for K-12
education over the biennium. Without substantial changes in the budgets
that will be proposed next month by the House and Senate, we can expect
virtually no additional revenue to reduce an anticipated budget shortfall
in the district of $29.5 million.
Faced with a $29.5 million shortfall, we are beginning now to plan for
substantial districtwide cuts. Each department must submit, by January
26, a plan to reduce its 2001-2002 total budget (staff and program) by 25
percent. Depending on the size of the department, those cuts will range
from $10,000 to $1.5 million. If, in fact, there is little movement at
the legislature as the session progresses, more drastic cuts - including
the elimination of whole departments will be considered.
In addition, each principal will be asked to work with his or her site
team to plan for a projected 25 percent cut in per capita funding for the
2001-2002 school year. Per capita represents only a portion of a school's
budget and does not effect referendum class size dollars, compensatory
education or Title I funds. You should be aware, however, that some
schools may face even more budget reductions due to demographic changes
such as reduced enrollment or a decrease in the number of students who
are eligible for free or reduced price lunch.
Beginning February Lwe are also implementing the following cost savings
measures, which will remain in effect through June 30:
� A hiring freeze for all non-essential personnel
� A freeze on all position upgrades not currently in process
� Afreeze onovertime
� Limits on non-essential travel
Some of you may wonder how we can project a shortfall when we just passed
an eight-year referendum renewal that will generate approximately $40
million annually. Referendum money is committed to keeping current class
sizes (with a small amount for early childhood education). All of the
$40+ million is spent on keeping this promise and is not available for
general purposes. While school budgets may be cut, the referendum money
means that current class sizes can and will be maintained.
The primary reasons for the shortfall include:
�Transportation costs are expected to increase by 7%, or approximately
$2.6 million; $400,000 is included within the salary and benefits
increase due to driver shortages and high demand, and the remaining $2.2
million is anticipated for increases in fuel and contract transportation
costs. We have convened a Transportation Task Force to develop strategies
to reduce transportation costs.
�Utility prices have increased by $2.3 million due to the increase in
energy costs and that trend may continue.
� We will be experiencing a probable double-digit increase in the cost of
providing health benefits to our employees.
� Special education needs in the district and the cost of providing those
services continue to rise. Although federal and state laws require our
district to provide these services, the state covers less than 66% and
the federal government provides 7% of the costs. Therefore, we have to
fund special education with cross-subsidy dollars (from other areas of
our budget). We need to continue our push for the state and federal
governments to fully fund special education.
� There is a need to maintain a competitive salary structure to ensure
quality instruction.
� Education funding is competing with political support for tax cuts and
rebates - and losing.
I recognize this letter will generate many questions. To make sure that
you have answers in a timely fashion, the Communications Department and
our District Lobbyist will post weekly budget updates on the For Staff
section of our website. UpFront, the employee newsletter, will contain
monthly budget and legislative updates and staff and parents can e-mail
questions directly to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In addition, staff are
encouraged to check the daily Hotline for late-breaking legislative news.
We will also work closely with union stewards to disseminate information
to employees as it becomes available. There will also be an aggressive
external communication plan to keep parents and other stakeholders
informed.
Finally, I believe that just as we worked together in a focused way to
pass the referendum we must mount a concerted district-wide effort to
lobby legislators to increase the amount of new money in the K-12 budget
and to fully fund special education. We will provide you with information
in the next week about opportunities for grassroots lobbying efforts for
staff and parents. This is an issue that affects districts across the
state and we will be partnering with them, as well as our colleagues in
higher education, to send a strong message to the Governor and the
Legislature that if Minnesota is to remain a national education leader we
must have a greater commitment ofresources from the state.
Regarding special education, you should be aware that the school district
receives money from Congress and the Legislature to provide education
services to children with special needs. The "cross subsidy" is the
amount of money the district spends out of its general fund to serve
these children (as required by law) over and above the special education
state and federal aids provided. In Minneapolis in 1998-99, the cross
subsidy was $27.5 million. Legislative action to fully fund special
education would drastically reduce the district's budget concerns and
facilitate better long-range budget planning.
The next few months will not be easy and we will be forced to make
difficult choices and decisions. As our budget process unfolds, we must
not lose sight of our ultimate goal - to help each student attain
academic excellence. Thank you for your work on behalf of the children .
Sincerely
Carol R. Johnson
Superintendent
John Ferman
Harriet Avenue
Kingfield Neighborhood
Minneapolis
Ward 10 Pct 10
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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