St. Michael-Albertville Levy Supporters Focusing on "Five T's"

superintendent Dr. Jim Behle got down to details at the last meeting of the St. Michael-Albertville School Board, less than a month before the district takes its case for increased funding to local taxpayers.

Behle has been busy visiting local community groups, providing additional information and answering questions about why they feel the funding bump is necessary in the lead-up to next month’s referendum.

A recent presentation to the school board set the record straight on a few uncertainties and made clear how the district would likely handle the budget shortfalls they will face if the referendum is defeated.

The next such informational meeting will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25 in the Middle School West auditorium.

How St. Michael-Albertville Schools Compare

One thing local residents may not know is how the numbers stack up for St. Michael-Albertville compared to our direct neighbors and in the state. According to numbers from the Minnesota Department of Education, STMA revenue per pupil is $500-$1,300 less than the district’s closest 11 neighbors.

For total general fund revenue per pupil, St. Michael-Albertville schools receives $7,507 per pupil unit per year. This comes in behind the state average and every other school in the local area, with Rockford being the closest at $8,028 to the Elk River district on the highest end, which receives $8,837.

When it comes to state comparisons, the district’s total per-pupil annual funding of $7,549 comes in at almost $2,000 less than the state average of $9,517.

Behle told the board and those in attendance one of the common misconceptions he has found is that residents often think budget cuts haven’t yet affected St. Michael-Albertville’s school district. However, he said the district has already cut $1.44 million over the past four years, though acknowledging that many don’t realize this because the district has been able to keep the budget cuts away from their core academic mission thus far.

Another misconception Behle addressed is school enrollment numbers in the district. STMA has added several new schools in the past decade, and their capital bonding is the second highest in the state as a result. Though some may think the district over-built for its needs, Behle showed enrollment numbers that will have the high school just under building capacity seven years from now, in 2018.

“That’s just current numbers of students, not considering those additional students who may move into the district,” Behle said.

Those who are wary of increasing their taxes for the school may think the district should reduce its spending on administration, but Behle pointed to MDE data that shows the school district spent 3.7 percent of its budget on school-level administration in 2009-2010-the last year data is available-versus 4.2 percent on state average. For district-level administration, the difference is even more pronounced: the state average on district-level administration is 5.4 percent of a school’s budget, while STMA spends 2.3 percent of their budget. They do, however, spend five percent more than the state average on instruction and student support services.

What Levy Dollars Seek to Protect

The core priorities district administrators seek to protect have been dubbed The Five T’s: teaching, textbooks, transportation, technology and team. By revoking the current $500 per student levy and replacing it with a $695 levy, the district would have an additional $1.2 million per year, which they stress would help the district maintain its current offerings and services, but not add to them.

Behle said the district would use the funds to maintain class sizes-though they may still raise due to increasing enrollment without the funds to fully compensate for the increases. They would maintain basic and up-to-date learning materials, work to keep the low walking distances in place, and maintain the current technology infrastructure and replace old computers-Big Woods’ are currently the oldest in the district.

If the Levy Fails

If the levy does not pass, Behle laid out some specific actions that may need to be taken to maintain a positive fund balance in the face of $500,000 in lost federal funding, uncertain state funding and inflationary costs. He said the goal is to keep cuts as far from the classroom as possible, but he estimated it would be necessary to eliminate three to eight teaching positions, along with some course offerings and causing longer waiting lists for students to get into classes of their choice. He said older textbooks would probably be a reality, as will older and fewer computers.

Walking distances could be targeted for an increase, as well. Right now the current laws allow a one mile walking radius for elementary and middle school students and a two mile radius for high school students, but STMA chooses to bus students who are .6 mile from their school, or less if the route to school has been deemed unsafe. Behle said using the state bussing laws would eliminate bussing for 605 STMA students, which would equal out to seven buses or $280,000 per year.

“This is an important service to our families,” Behle said. “There’s a convenience and some would argue a safety issue in some cases. This is something we have taken and tried to put extra money toward, but if we’re going to keep [budget cuts] away from the classroom, this may need to be one of the areas we look at.”

Lastly, he said that increasing fees and/or eliminating coaches and programs with lower numbers at both the middle and high school would help close the funding gap. The school board bemoaned the idea of cutting athletics, clubs and activities, especially at the middle school level, where the lion’s share of activity cutting usually takes place.

“It keeps kids engaged when they’re starting to find their identity, I think that’s important,” board chair Doug Birk said.  

Voting on the levy referendum will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 8 at MS East, MS West or the district office for absentee voting now through Nov. 7.