By Katrina Vander Kooi
State funding for Luverne School District next year will not keep pace with inflation.
"The school district will lose money," Superintendent Vince Schaefer said at the Luverne School Board meeting Thursday, Aug. 9.
"The spending doesn't compare to last year. It was disappointing because there was a surplus."
The first year of the biennium, Luverne will receive a total of $8,360,196, a $110,571 increase over last year. The second year of the biennium Luverne will receive $8,657,997, a $297,801 increase from the year before.
"The money is tied directly to the number of students," Superintendent Vince Schaefer said.
The K-12 bill increased the per-pupil formula from $3,964 this year to $4,068 per pupil for the 2001-2002 school year and $4,601 per pupil for the 2002-2003 school year.
This is about a 2.6-percent increase during each year of the biennium. The rate of inflation last year was 3.15 percent.
According to a poll of 627 registered Minnesota voters conducted for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Minnesota Public Radio, 55 percent of respondents said lawmakers did not provide enough money for schools, compared with 31 percent who thought they provided the right amount and 10 percent who said they gave schools too much money.
Included in the funding package for Luverne, the K-12 bill designates money to equal out voter-approved excess taxes to $415 per pupil across the board. Schools with amounts lower than $415 will receive an increase. Luverne is one of them.
The current voter-approved excess taxes for Luverne are only $198 per pupil this year, but next year the state will add $217 per pupil.
A variety of accountability issues were included in the bill. School boards must now approve structurally balanced budgets.
A new seventh-grade exam was added and will begin during the 2002-03 school year. It will test the skills connected with the Profile of Learning. Another exam will test students' skills at math without a calculator.
A web-accessible system providing district-by-district comparisons of school finances and student performance is to be developed by a contractor at a starting cost of $2.5 million. Standard and Poor's is now providing a service similar to this in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Schaefer was skeptical about the idea.
"There are too many variables," Schaefer said about the new school comparison system. "We are not all teaching the same thing at the same time."
The state earmarked $8 million on a pilot basis for districts to move away from the system of paying teachers based on their education and years served.
The Luverne School District is not looking at this as an option during negotiations. "All of our teachers are great," Superintendent Vince Schaefer said.
"It's hard to find a way for it to be fair," board member Daniel Kopp said.
In other business, Thursday the board:
Accepted the resignation of Grace Tofteland as ECFE and School Readiness paraprofessional and Pete Wilson as mathematics teacher.
Reviewed the hiring process for a Spanish teacher. Schaefer said Principal Gary Fisher has selected a candidate and is in the process of offering a contract.
Discussed a new CD that promotes the community through music and photos. After the introduction, the user will be able to access the chamber, city, county, school, and hospital Web sites that contain information about Luverne.
The CDs will be used for a variety of inquiries including businesses, families, organizations, or individuals that request information about the community.
Heard there was one meeting of the Negotiations Committee and that it went well. The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 27.
Discussed adding a child guide program at Luverne. Superintendent Schaefer discussed his trip to Olivia to see a child guide program. "The goal is to connect these kids in a positive way not only to school but also to the community," Schaefer said.
If implemented, the program would be funded jointly by the government and by the community.
Accepted bids for bakery products, dairy products, fuel oil, and gasoline/diesel fuel for the 2001-02 school year.
Scheduled the next board meeting for 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 23.