Dear St. Paul Community,
As you may know districts throughout our state will receive less funding for the 2024-2025 school year. St. Paul is no exception and is experiencing a budget shortfall, though not to the same extent as most other districts. This is thanks to the fiscal oversight that has been provided by the board and your St. Paul staff. However, we are in the second year of a biennium for state funding which is not adequate to cover increased expenses due to inflation, rising contracted service fees and our staffing costs. The district has also experienced a declining enrollment in particular at our elementary school, which has a direct impact on revenue for our district for the coming year. In order to present a balanced budget to the Budget Committee in May, I have been tasked with working with my team here to address this projected budget shortfall. This process has taken many hours of effort on the part of district staff and has been done using an equity lens for services, keeping student needs first and foremost while considering staffing and program needs. The following necessary program and staffing adjustments are being put in place for 2024-2025. My hope is that funding for our state schools will increase in the next biennium and that these reductions are a temporary measure to balance our currently strained budget.
10% reduction of general fund expenses (where possible), including athletics. | |
Reduction in out-of-building professional development (when a substitute is required) | |
Elementary Staff Reduction- Grade levels- Pre-K, K-1 blend, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | .5 FTE |
MS/HS Staff Reduction (Business Teacher; coursework will be taught by Career & College Teacher) | .67 FTE |
Elimination of Art Program | 1.0 FTE |
Reduction of elementary media assistant | .88 FTE |
Sincerely,
Joseph M. Wehrli
St. Paul School District
Superintendent/Elementary Principal