From expiring pandemic aid to declining enrollment, Minnesota school districts face financial pressure. Public school advocates and community organizations say long-term improvements, not short-term cuts, are the reply. In a survey from the Association of Metropolitan School Districts, large school systems across Minnesota report a combined shortfall of $317 million.

On Tuesday, the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers led a gathering of local groups, calling on district leaders to rethink the cuts proposed for the following school yr. Lindsay Turner, community organizer for TakeAction Minnesota, said she is offended as a parent of a Minneapolis student.

“Parents shouldn’t should be fighting for crumbs and showing up to highschool board meetings attempting to protect this school’s band program on the expense of that one,” Turner contended.

Turner and others said administrators should give attention to making schools more attractive for enrollment. Additionally they want state leaders to make use of existing surplus funds to assist soften the blow. Minneapolis district officials said last yr’s boost in state funding has helped, but they still face a big deficit, forcing them to propose tens of thousands and thousands of dollars in spending reductions.

Broderick Austin, associate pastor of Shiloh Temple International Ministries in North Minneapolis, said an enormous give attention to cuts comes on the worst possible time for educators and their students. “The classroom sizes are too big; there’s not enough resources. The teachers are overstretched,” Austin outlined.

Minneapolis teachers, who went on strike in 2022, try to barter a brand new contract with the district. Each side disagree over the system’s financial condition. As for state aid, while there continues to be a surplus, forecasts show possible headwinds in the following budget cycle.

Mike Moen writes for the Minnesota News Connection.