School Board News
Property Rich and Cash Poor
In Cleveland, Minnesota, we sit squarely in the middle of a sea of agriculture. You can drive in any direction and see thousands of acres of farmland devoted to row crops and livestock. I hear farmers talk about being property rich and cash poor anytime we come close to drought or other weather conditions that could impact crop yields and therefore income.
This saying applies in Cleveland schools, as well. We have great facilities, thanks to voters who approved our bond referendum. Yet we have a revenue challenge – we have used our fund balance (or savings account) to balance our budget for the last two years, and it will happen again this year.
Did you know?
● If state revenue increases kept pace with inflation, just this year we would have received $1,250 more per pupil - that’s the equivalent of more than $800,000, more than enough to cover our deficit budget.
● The Cleveland school district operating levy of $512 per pupil is $138 less per pupil than the group average of the 9 districts around us, and $362 less than the state average.
● Our current operating levy expires at the end of 2024.
These facts contribute directly to the challenge we are currently facing; deficit budgets are unsustainable. And, as our levy will expire soon, the school board is having conversations about serious financial decisions. Should we tighten our belt, find new revenue sources, or some combination of the two?
This summer, our financial advisor provided data on the impact on our budget of the bills approved by the Minnesota Legislature. We will pretty much break even between revenue increases and unfunded or underfunded mandates. They also provided projections on future revenues, expenditures, and fund balance. As we study this process further, we’ll be seeking feedback from you, our community members, on which direction we should take. Cleveland Public School is our school. We have invested in it. We are achieving our mission of educating students – we’re drawing other students from miles around who are excited about the opportunities that our school offers. We look forward to working with you to make these hard decisions while keeping the positive momentum going.
Sincerely,
Scott Miller, School Board Chairman
Miller.Scott@isd391.org