St. Cloud school district could use 1-time funds to cover $800,000 gap

St. Cloud school district could use 1-time funds to cover $800,000 gap
By Dave Aeikens • daeikens@stcloudtimes.com • February 18, 2010

Comments(70)RecommendPrint this page E-mail this article Share
Del.icio.us Facebook Digg Reddit Newsvine Buzz up!
Twitter FarkIt Type Size A A A St. Cloud school district is considering the use of one-time dollars to balance its 2010-2011 budget and pay for employee contract settlements.




The money would come from the district’s capital fund, which pays for building improvements, and a portion of a property tax increase board members approved in December that helps pay for health insurance costs of former employees. The moves would cover an anticipated $800,000 shortfall. About $500,000 would come from the capital fund and $300,000 from the tax increase.
The estimated $800,000 shortfall is based on contract settlements that increase costs about 3 percent for 2009-2011. That deficit would grow if settlements were higher than the 3 percent, director of business services Kevin Januszewski said.
Eight of the nine contracts are unsettled; the district is still negotiating with the teachers, its largest employee group. The school board’s most recent offer puts the district right at the 3 percent goal. If the school board raises its offer in an effort to settle, the shortfall would grow, Januszewski said.
School board members are expected to consider the budget recommendation Thursday. The 2010-2011 budget does not have to be approved until June 30, but staff needs to know how the board wants to deal with the expected shortfall before completing the budget.
Administrators considered layoffs, savings in health insurance and the elimination of a work day before settling on the use of the reserve and tax dollars, Superintendent Steve Jordahl said.
“We have said from the very beginning we would not cut staff. That is not an option for us. We said we wanted to protect, in this economy, our staff members,” Jordahl said,
The use of the one-time dollars pushes the budget shortfall to 2011-2012 because the capital dollars will not be available next year. The Legislature has frozen state aid for two years and delayed aid payments, forcing schools to borrow. It has allowed district through this year to transfer reserve dollars from capital accounts to bolster budgets.
The district is collecting more than $900,000 in taxes this year for other post employment benefits, or OPEB, and could have some of that money remaining for the 2011-2012 budget. Another concern is that the state is expecting a shortfall of its own and could decide to reduce the amount of money it gives to schools. That would create budget shortfalls for all school districts.
St. Cloud already has raised taxes and made reductions to balance an anticipated $2.6 million shortfall for 2010-2011. Those decisions were made in 2009 to give the district time to plan any changes. The Area Learning Center at Wilson is being moved to McKinley Education Center in Waite Park next school year. The move is expected to save $350,000.