Community members on Tuesday shared feedback on the St. Paul school district’s cash-strapped 2025-26 budget, with some objecting to proposed cuts to early childhood programming and family resources.
The school board will see a proposed budget at its May 20 meeting, and district officials have been hosting community informational meetings on the budget since late March. Board members have until June 30 to finalize the budget for the 2025-26 school year and will vote on the proposal June 10.
The district estimates $732.1 million in expenses in the coming school year, with an estimated $51.1 million budget shortfall. The board has agreed to use $34.9 million in reserve funds for the shortfall, with the remaining $16.2 million to come from budget cuts and new revenue, according to the district.
Last year’s St. Paul Public Schools budget shortfall was around $108 million.
Cuts
Initial staff reduction letters were distributed Friday for positions eliminated due to budget or non-renewal due to performance.
The district, which as of February had 6,088 full- and part-time staff, attributes the budget shortfall to increased expenses — such as increased employee wages and benefits — rising costs of goods and services and no expected increases to state, federal or local revenue to adjust for inflation, outside of the base funding formula and local operating levy.
Parents and community members at Tuesday night’s meeting spoke against cuts to Early Childhood Family Education, or ECFE — a voluntary program for parents and their children below the age for kindergarten enrollment — and Achievement Plus — a private-public partnership between SPPS and the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation that provides resources to families such as health services and food support.
ECFE is facing proposed budget cuts of $1.46 million in the upcoming budget and a reduction from six sites to four.
The Achievement Plus Initiative is set to end June 30, according to Achievement Plus director Rick Gibson in a March statement.
The end of Achievement Plus and its liaison role is a loss of a connection between schools and critical services, such as housing assistance, in-school dental care and summer programs, SPPS parent Amber Rae Bernhardt said at Tuesday meeting.
“Cutting this program is not a cost-saving measure, it’s a cost-shifting measure — shifting the burden onto the backs of struggling families and underresourced schools,” Bernhardt said.
Other parents urged the school board to consider the community and support that ECFE has provided parents. ECFE programming includes parent discussion groups, early health and developmental screenings for children and home visits, among other resources.
“I am sure you will have better students and citizens with more involved, more prepared and more sound parents. Do whatever it takes to find a budget, even if it is asking for our help,” said SPPS parent Liliana Sanchez.
Guidelines and next steps
The overall budget amount allocated to schools will increase by approximately 6%, or $26.2 million, in 2025-26. This is primarily due to increased enrollment, more students in special education and expanded middle school options, according to the district. SPPS saw an increase in enrollment for the 2024-25 school year compared with last, the first year in a decade it had higher enrollment than the year before. Nearly all district revenue — such as state aid and local property taxes — is tied to enrollment.
The board has three guidelines for the budget, which include sustaining funding for early education in order to retain and prepare students for elementary school; sustaining funding for enrollment efforts; and sustaining expenditures for increasing student engagement and decreasing absenteeism.
The board will address Tuesday’s community feedback at its May 6 meeting. The proposed budget will continue to be updated until its approval in June.
Feedback can be also shared on the district’s website at tinyurl.com/2exswt7s.
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