District 196 Budget Groups Talk Buses, Staffing, Activities

The Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District on Tuesday hosted its first of two nights of budget focus groups; it's the third year district officials have assembled parents, staff and civic and business leaders to provide feedback about .

This time around the district also was looking for suggestions for cuts beyond 2011-12, which officials assume they’ll have to make largely because of $5 million of one-time federal education jobs funds they plan to use for 2011-12, Superintendent Jane Berenz said. With the $5 million, the district will need to adjust its 2011-12 budget by about $3.4 million more.

During the large-group introduction and in one of the smaller parent groups, much discussion gravitated toward bus transportation. The district estimates it would save about $300,000 by increasing the distance requirement for regular bus transportation to minimum one mile away from school for elementary students and one-and-a-half miles for middle school and high school students.

The state requires schools bus students who live minimum two miles away, and doesn’t provide more funding for better service, Berenz said.

Community members brought up potential issues with the idea—crossing busy roads, car congestion during drop-off and pick-up times—as well as ways to make it work better—parents volunteering to organize “walking school buses,” for instance.

Some, like parent Michele Snare, also voiced support for cutting from transportation because it doesn’t affect classroom learning. She said she has a child in an Advanced Placement class that has 37 students this year.

Angela Amann, a parent, said it’s “not a shock” that transportation was brought to the table. Regular bus transportation was not among the areas that took cuts last year, and something new becomes more of an issue and center of discussion, she said.

Other parents brought up concerns about cutting certain positions, such as an inclusion specialist who works with special education students to help them learn in a regular classroom setting, as well as paraprofessionals and gifted-and-talented program teachers.

The district's largest suggested cut would come from reducing staff by 48 full-time positions, including 27 teachers.

Another issue that surfaced was extracurricular activities. Some parents agreed that the district should look at activities in the future—either cuts to programs or increased fees—to maintain a focus on quality academics.

For 2011-12, the District 196 high school figure skating team will continue without school funding rather than being cut all together, Berenz said.

“People would much rather pay more than lose it,” Berenz said, something she said she’s gathered from the school budget discussions in neighboring Lakeville.

Snare also brought up the need to better coordinate volunteers in the district to get schools more help without cost.

Many parents in the small group seemed to support most of the recommended cuts, though some were curious why the district wasn’t cutting more this year when they expected to continue cutting in the future.

“We don’t know yet what’s gonna happen,” group facilitator and budget advisory council member Bob Leuth said.

While the focus groups couldn't draw definite conclusions, Amann said she feels like the district hears what participants say.

“I think they really tried to get all different views here,” Amann said.

Berenz said parent and community input helps the district remain strong despite budget challenges.

“We’ll figure it out,” Berenz said. “But we all have to be together.”