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Did You Know?
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- State funding over the past ten years has averaged 2% while inflation has averaged 3%. To maintain programs and quality education, 90% of the districts statewide have voter approved operating levies that provide on average an additional $708 per student per year. Sauk Rapids-Rice is one of the few that does not have an operating levy.
- Class sizes are larger this year. Over 20 teachers were laid off because the district needed to cut over 2 million dollars to balance the budget for 2007-08. In any school district, typically 80% of expenses are for the people who provide the programs and services.
- Sauk Rapids-Rice is among the 10% of districts statewide that doesn’t have an operating levy. If we had a voter approved levy and were funded as an average district, we would have an additional 2.8 million dollars to educate our students each year rather than having had to cut over 2 million to balance the budget for 2007-08.
- Sauk Rapids-Rice is tied with about 35 other districts in Minnesota for last place in state student funding. 90% of the districts have a voter approved operating levy that provides on average an additional $708 per student per year. This leaves ISD 47 behind nearly every other district in the state in available dollars to deliver services to children.
- The district cut over 2 million dollars to balance the budget for 2007-08. State funding will be increased by 1% in 2008-09. Without additional revenue from a voter approved operating levy, more cuts will need to be made in order to balance our budget.
- Sauk Rapids-Rice is one of only a handful of districts in the state which relies almost exclusively on state funding to run our programs. State funding has averaged 2% for the past ten years while inflation has increased 3% and we have relied on our “savings account” to balance the budget each year. Now we are at the point of having to make significant cuts unless voters approve an operating levy to provide additional dollars to educate students.
- State funding the past ten years has not kept up with inflation. Districts across the state have been forced to ask local taxpayers to approve operating levies just to maintain programming and services. 90% of Minnesota districts have an operating levy in place which provides on average $708 additional funding per student per year. Sauk Rapids-Rice does not have such a levy in place.
- Fees have been raised for activities, athletics and food service to generate necessary revenue.
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