Posted 4/25/01 Crest of positive enrollment wave buoys North Branch schools By Jason Sileo The North Branch schools are in good financial shape at the moment and will not be forced to make the types of cuts many districts across the state are getting ready to make. The fact of the matter remains, however, that no one knows yet what kind of state funds Minnesota schools are going to receive for their budgets next year. Due to enrollment figures which continue to go up, the overall situation is considerably more pleasant in North Branch than in many surrounding districts at the moment. District Superintendent Dr. Robert Stepaniak said the schoolís positioning at the moment allows administrators to take a ìwait and seeî approach to budgeting in the near future. Stepaniak said administrators are concerned, though, because the schoolsí proposed operating budgets for next year will outweigh revenue funds available. The schools can handle it for the moment, he said, because of a sturdy fund balance ó essentially a savings account ó at the districtís disposal. District Financial Administrator Randi Johnson said the school ended its most recent fiscal year ìin much better shape than we anticipated... we ended the year very strong. Our enrollments have been growing faster than we expected.î Johnson said the schoolsí principals had been ìconservative in their spending last year,î a factor which has also contributed to the strong fund balance. While many newspaper headlines tell tale of teacher layoffs, program cuts and associated woe in districts across the state, North Branch will likely hire a handful of new teachers for next year, Stepaniak said. The school board also approved a new dance team program to be introduced next winter. There are a number of factors working against the district, but the district is in a decent position to bear the brunt of these various ëhits,í it was reported. Districts in the state which do not have growing enrollments and adequate fund balances are the ones cutting teachers and programs. As with everyone else, the schools took a pretty good hit with their energy bills and fuel costs this year, Johnson said. She said the districtís budget fell about $100,000 short in those departments this year. Those costs will be an issue for school districts across the state again in 2001-02. But Johnson said the financial pros outweigh the cons in the North Branch Schools for the moment, and, ìWeíre sitting in very good position as we approach next year.î No one is sure what kind of funding state education will receive next year ó but most school districts feel that none of the stateís proposals will provide educators and administrators with a very comfortable existence next year. Schools are essentially getting themselves in the best position possible to deal with whatever is thrown at them when the budget numbers come down. The district has formulated a ìworst caseî budget should the governor prevail in St. Paul, but no action can really be taken until concrete numbers are in hand, Johnson said. Johnson said it was by far the ìstrangestî legislative session she had seen in her two decadesí of work in North Branch. ìIíve never seen these kinds of numbers coming out of the governorís office,î she said. Predicting what will happen, she said, ìis basically impossible.î ©Post Review