Enrollment fluctuations trigger budget changes

Cloquet school district officials have some challenges on their hands in planning for the next few school years, thanks to a “bubble” of large classes that will be entering the high school and continued fluctuations in enrollment likely caused by the pandemic, according to superintendent Michael Cary.

During Monday’s Cloquet school board meeting, Cary presented the board with proposals for budget changes in the 2022-23 budget year, which begins in July. In total, district staff are recommending cuts of $452,000, and increases of $190,000. Cary said that will still leave the district with possible deficit spending of roughly $500,000 for the next school year, but conservative budget estimates will likely mean a much smaller deficit.

The high school, with a larger freshman class entering school, will see increases in staff time in several subject areas, including science, physical education, social studies and math. The dean of students position at Washington Elementary School will shift to full-time, to give Washington — which is 40 percent larger than Churchill — a more equivalent support/admin staff. The district will also go from a half-time special education coordinator to full-time, as a member of the Northern Lights Special Education Cooperative.

A total of just over four full-time teaching positions will be cut, including two second-grade teaching positions — one teacher is retiring, another will shift to first grade — and a third-grade teaching spot that was added this year to bring down class sizes. One of eight fifth-grade sections will be cut, and changes in programming will see a 0.8 middle school music teacher spot covered by two high school and one elementary school music teachers.

“In most cases, whenever we’re looking for cost savings, we try to make sure they land through retirement or people that were hired, thinking it was one-year anyway,” Cary explained. The board did not vote on the proposed changes Monday; the proposed budget won’t be adopted until June.

Cary also expressed concern about unusual enrollment fluctuations, with more kids than normal dropping enrollment at the high school level. Cary said it’s not unexpected, but it is worrying, both for the students and because decreased enrollment means decreased revenues for the district.

“I can’t say I’m super surprised, considering the start some of these kids would have had for their high school careers,” he said, referring to the distance- and hybrid learning that continued from March 2020 through parts of the next school year. “Research shows it’s really important to get a good start in ninth grade, otherwise it can be hard to catch up or students might get disheartened and give up.”

The district has used federal Covid funds to hire additional staff for social emotional support, academic support and credit recovery. He said families should reach out to their school to get students who have dropped out back on track to graduate.