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By Patrick Tepoorten
 The North Branch School Board, last night, heard the complete proposed solution to next year’s $2.9 budget shortfall. The three-phase process has left few areas of the district unaffected by budget reductions.
Superintendent Deb Henton characterized staff reductions as representing 10 percent of total staff, and said the affect on community services will be extraordinary.
Phase I involved the lay-off of two administrators , Primary School principal Matt Dorschner, and high school assistant principal Dean Gunnarson, and a proposed restructure of existing administration.
Phase II is a facilities reconfiguration that includes moving all second-grade students to the Sunrise River School, early childhood programs to the Primary School, the Area Learning Center from the Brooker building to the Main Street School, the Northgate program to the Brooker site, and the creation of a transitional program at Brooker. The result of the restructure will alleviate the district of the Northgate lease and the transportation of students out of the district for transition programs.
These changes, combined with a consolidation of clerical duties at the Primary School, are expected to save the district roughly $207,500.
Phase III accounts for by far the bulk of 2008 - 2009 spending reductions and will have wide ranging affects on the district. Teaching staff will be reduced by the full-time equivalent (FTE) of 17 positions, with the bulk coming from the high school and elementary schools. Special education, support, and specialist positions will be reduced by 6.5 FTE; secretarial and paraprofessional by 15.7 FTE, and custodial/transportation by 2.6 FTE.
Including all staff reductions, Superintendent Deb Henton said the reductions represent 10 percent of school staff and will have an “extraordinary impact” on the services the district provides the community. But it will also have the single largest impact on the proposed budget, saving the district $1.7 million.
Other elements of phase III, include:
• Discontinuing early release for seniors, increasing state per-pupil funding;
• Increased vending revenue;
• The budgeting for applicable positions outside the general fund. For instance, the district will pay for health services to Trinity Christian School and community relations out of the community education budget;
• An increase of 10 cents to student meal prices, and an undetermined increase to adult meal prices;
• Reductions in a plethora of areas of services, supplies and equipment, at a savings of $371,400;
• The elimination of third-shift custodial at the high school;
• A 20 percent reduction in practices for middle school sports; elimination of a level of basketball; lumping middle and high school athletes together in cross country, and the exploration of a boys’ hockey cooperative;
• Increases to sports and activity fees at middle and high school levels;
• The elimination of busing for students within certain boundaries, grades seven through 12 only;
• The reduction of extended days and music lessons.
In total, phase III represents almost $2.5 million in necessary cuts. Coupled with phases I and II, the proposal reduces expenditures in 2008 - 09 by $2.948 million, roughly $400,000 of which will be used to replenish the fund balance, depleted over the years to minimize the impact of past budget reductions.
Financial Director Randi Johnson said she hoped the reductions would be enough, but warned that they are based on next year’s enrollment projections, which are rarely accurate. As state funding is based on enrollment, if the decline in students next year is larger than expected, there will be a corresponding need to make more adjustments.
Johnson also warned the board that, even with the cuts, the district could find itself in the same position with the 2009 - 10 budget.
Residents still have opportunities to comment on the proposed budget reductions. There will be a public meeting at 6 p.m. on April 17, at the Sunrise River School, comments can be submitted via e-mail at
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, or call (651) 674-1080.
Comments can be submitted by mail at:
District Office, Attn: Budget
6644 Main Street
North Branch, Mn. 55056
The board is expected to approve budget reductions at a special meeting on April 24 at 6 p.m., at the Main Street School.
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