A divided Minneapolis school board on Tuesday night approved its budget for the 2022-2023 school year amid intense pushback from the teachers union, students and parents over cuts to arts education and other programs.
Divided Minneapolis school board approves budget cuts, including to arts programs
The board faced a $27 million deficit after enrollment declines and the new teacher contract that settled a three-week strike.
June 15, 2022 at 2:35PM
Three board members — Nelson Inz, Adriana Cerrillo and Ira Jourdain — voted against the budget. Board Members Kim Ellison, Jenny Arneson, Kimberly Caprini, Siad Ali, Sharon El-Amin and Cindy Booker voted to approve it.
The district revisited its finances after the three-week teachers strike earlier this year. Steep enrollment declines combined with the additional costs of the new contracts with teachers and support staff pushed the district's budget gap up by $27.1 million, requiring adjustments, including cuts. That's despite the use of $58 million in one-time federal relief money to maintain programming and staffing.
Each department's budget was reduced by 5%, meaning many vacant positions will go dark. While the overall pool of money allocated to schools went up by 1%, many schools are facing reductions because of lower enrollment projections. Those cuts are hitting especially hard in arts programs such as dance, theater and music.
"I'm not going to be party to removing those much-needed positions," Jourdain said in explaining his vote against approving the budget. Echoing several teachers, parents and students who spoke during public comments, Jourdain said such cuts could push more families out of the district. Because state funding is doled out per pupil, additional enrollment declines will further sap the district's finances.
Jourdain also introduced a motion to draw $10 million from the district's unassigned portion of the general fund (which operates as a rainy day fund) and redistribute that money to schools. That motion failed.
Per the school board's own policy, that unassigned portion shouldn't drop below 8% of the estimated general fund expenditures for the following year. Dipping below that threshold could lead to a lower bond rating, district leaders say.
El-Amin said the district should consider asking community groups to "help fill the gaps" left by cuts. She said she sees the importance of art programming for students, especially those who may not have access to dance or music outside of school, but "we can't afford to put ourselves in a financial situation where it will be even more devastating down the road."
The federal relief money runs out after 2024 and the budget relies significantly on those funds, said Superintendent Ed Graff.
Tuesday marked Graff's last school board meeting before he leaves the district at the end of the month. He encouraged district leaders to keep pushing for more state and federal funding for education.
Caprini said more "impossible choices" are likely on the horizon.
"We need to prepare ourselves for really hard decisions about the footprint of this district," she said.
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