The Strong Schools Form Our Future Committee Answers Community Questions

Several concerns and questions arose as a result of the April 14, 2008, Future of Parkers Prairie Schools meeting.  In the following weeks the Strong Schools Form Our Future Committee in conjunction with the School Board will attempt to answer these concerns and questions.

The overriding issue at the April community meeting was the advisability of attempting to pass a funding referendum for the school district.  Based on the input from the over 400 community members in attendance at the meeting and the needs identified by the School Board, the Parkers Prairie School Board voted in May to put a school funding referendum on the November, 2008, general election ballot.  The Board did so to fill the burgeoning funding gap that can only otherwise be bridged by cutting programs, staff or course offerings.

Minnesota schools are funded by local property tax dollars and funds which come from the State of Minnesota.  State funding for all Minnesota public schools has not kept up with increased costs of running a school.  These costs include staff, fuel, transportation, textbooks and facility upkeep.  In recent years, the cost of operating the Parkers Prairie School District has gone up 4%, but the State of Minnesota has increased its funding by only 2%.  The school district has tried to work with the amount of money it receives by cutting expenses as much as possible but has arrived at a point where only the elimination of programs, courses or personnel will bring the costs down to match the funding. 

Currently the Parkers Prairie school budget shows that the expenses exceed revenue by $134,000, and the reserve balance is only $265,000.  Thus, by the end of the 2008-2009 school year the reserve balance will be cut in half and essentially eliminated the following year. Deficit spending could cause the district to go into what is called Statutory Operating Debt (SOD) which would require the district to present to the State of Minnesota a plan of action outlining how it intends to become fiscally viable.  If the district fails to do so, the State of Minnesota could close the district.

The drastic step of closing a school rarely happens because people of the district usually grasp the gravity of the situation and work to remedy it.  However, waiting that long finds a district paying out far too many unnecessary dollars on interest, cutting more and more programs which weaken the system and likely finds some open enrollment students leaving, rather than entering, the district.