The Brainerd, Minnesota School Board voted last Monday to mandate the administration to make $5.5 million in budget reductions. The decisions need to be made by June 30, 2007 and will apply to the 2008-2009 school year.
The following are the divisions:
- Transportation $180,000
- Closure of schools $500,000
- Athletics and activities $860,000
- Use of school facilities $300,000
- Class size and programs #3,660,000
The closure of Whittier and Lincoln elementary schools has already been decided. Lincoln will then be housing the Minnesota Learning Center, now in the former Brainerd State Hospital. Whittier's future is uncertain.
photo by Conspirator
Open enrollment for the Brainerd School District will also close for the remainder of this year and possibly for next year as well.
The ChallengeBy Jerry Walseth
ISD 181 Superintendent of Schools
On behalf of our administration, our teachers and our students, I want to thank our community at large for the support we received in recent weeks. As you know, the referendum request generated extensive dialogue from all ages and sectors of the Brainerd Lakes Area. Voters spoke in record numbers; nearly two to one. And they made it clear that they are unhappy with the current education funding structure. As school administrators, teachers and other professionals, we couldn’t agree more. The system is broken, and must be reformed. But this will take time, and meanwhile, there are very difficult – and, most likely, unpopular – decisions to be made. Schools will be closed, teachers laid off, and cherished programs will be cut.
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