School Board OKs cuts

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

March 18, 1997

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

Facing budget constraints and decreased revenue, the Bemidji School Board accepted Monday night $800,00 in proposed cuts for the 1997-98 school budget.

According to Superintendent Rollie Morud, had the district not made the cuts, the district's general fund balance of $1,979, 358 as of June 30 would have been reduced to $345,215 as of June 30, 1998 -- the end of the next fiscal year.

"This is what the fund balance would look like without changes -- $354,215," Morud said. "This is unacceptable."

The slated cuts -- about 2.5 percent of the distict's budget -- have been set as follows: $150,000 in district services, $190,000 in kindergarten and elementary reductions, $235,000 in Middle School reductions and $225,000 in Bemidji High School reductions.

The final, specific cuts will be worked out April 1, when the board will finalize them and pass needed resolutions for teachers being placed on unrequested leave.

Totaling the general fund balance of about $354,000, plus the recommended cuts of $800,000 and anticipated budget variances -- such as retirements and budget items that come in under anticipated expenditures -- of $300,000, the new projected general fund balance will be about $1.45 million.

"However, we are not taking care of the problem," Morud said.

He told the board the $800,000 in cuts for next year's budget is only half of the problem the district faces. There is another $800,000 of the general fund balance that will be reduced and not addressed this year.

Morud noted in his presentation to the board the budget reduction recommendations were made by a committee of principals and the district's business manager, which tried to determine a "level playing field" on which to view the High School, Middle School and elementary school levels of the district.

As the Middle School receives more money per pupil than either the High School or elementary schools, it was determined by Morud that the Middle School should receive the biggest cut for next year, he said.

"It became clear that defining and achieving a level playing field was unobtainable. Consequently, as superintendent, I made the final decision on this recommendation," Morud stated in his notes. "Philosophically, this recommendation recognizes that the Middle School has been receiving more resources on a per-pupil basis than other levels, and the direction of more resources to early grades is a wise investment."

The main reason for the budget "challenges," he said was the Legislature has not kept up base public education funding with inflationary increases. The average state increase has been 1.42 percent when inflation has never been below 2 percent and has been as high as 3 percent.

The cumulative effect over several years has made it so the district has to adjust its budget, he said.

Other factors affecting the school district have been higher than projected energy and fuel costs and the decrease in general education aid received from the state.

The cost of natural gas -- used as the primary energy source at the High School, Middle School and three elementary schools -- has increased 37.3 percent from January 1996 to the same month this year. The cost of propane -- used to heat three elementary schools -- has risen 55 percent. And finally, the cost of fuel for the district's buses has increased 15.6 percent in one year.

"These kinds of issues are impacting our budget kind of heavy," Morud said.

Also, the district has received less money in general education aid, which is the basic funding formula for the district's primary revenue.

The heart of the formula is based on the district's Weighted Average Daily Membership, which determines the weights set for elementary, middle school and high school students, which in turn determines the amount of money a district will receive.

However, the weight for high school students has been lowered in recent years, decreasing the money received by districts with large secondary student populations, such as Bemidji.

In addition to next year's cuts, the board Monday revised and updated the 1996-97 school year budget to more accurately reflect current numbers. Business Manager Bryan Westerman said a number of factors changed what the current balance now shows, and some of these changes will lessen the decrease of the general fund balance.

"Budget cuts are never, never easy," board Chairman James Smalley said. "They're always very difficult."