Some hope remains despite bleak financial report

A preliminary look at the Carlton school district audit Monday revealed what board members and administrators expected: expenditures are outstripping revenues, enrollment is stagnant at best, and solutions like dipping into the fund balance and Covid-19 relief money won’t last forever.

“Those are temporary solutions for the next couple of years,” business and human resources manager Norman Nelis said during the school board’s committee of the whole meeting. “We’re going to have to discuss aligning our revenues and expenditures.”

But not all hope was lost. A South Terrace Elementary School official reported a development aimed at reducing the achievement gap — a well-received new after-school Literacy Club.

“I’ve heard nothing but good things about the Literacy Club, even from a student who would rather go to Literacy Club than hockey,” board member Sue Karp said.

More on that in a moment.

First, covering a $502,000 deficit between $6.1 million in expenditures and $5.6 million in revenues this school year will drop the district’s remaining fund balance to 12.5 percent of its operating budget — the worst figure in years and below the 15-percent threshold outlined in district policy.

The roughly 645 students in the district are in line with five-year averages, but lower than a once promising summer had forecast, meaning less state aid than anticipated.

“Any kind of long-term viability we’re talking about kind of begins with stemming that tide,” superintendent John Engstrom said of enrollment.

Engstrom identified South Terrace as the frontline of a prospective turnaround.

“That’s where it can start ... (by) changing the narrative of the district within the community,” Engstrom said of the elementary school, “and getting more and more residents and families giving us a chance right from the jump.”

The superintendent said the elementary school, with 300 students, is doing “great” things. To that end, first-year principal Donita Stepan, the former superintendent in Thief River Falls, spoke to the school’s latest innovation, its Literacy Club.

“We’ve got about 30 kids grades three through five that have signed up, and every day I get another student asking me if they could join,” Stepan said.

The Literacy Club sprung from a pot of federal Covid-19 money administered by the state that was ticketed for after-school programs. The funding is designed to close an achievement gap created by online schooling during the pandemic.

So far, the district has allotted $75,000 to start the program, compensating teachers who sign up for the extra work and buying materials and comfy furniture for the library.

“Our main purpose was … to increase the stamina and help our kids get back in the habit of reading and writing,” Stepan said. “Our second purpose was to do everything we can to try to close the achievement gap in the short period of time we have between now and May.”

Teachers and staff from throughout the school are signing up to participate, Stepan said, making it so the burden doesn’t fall on any one group or individual. Everyone’s also compensated for the extra effort.

“It’s been a fantastic start,” Stepan said. “The kids are happy. They’re enjoying it. It’s a club, so it’s super-fun.”

Students gather for the Literacy Club at 3 p.m., most days. They get a half-hour for snacking and socializing, followed by a half-hour of homework under paraprofessional supervision. After that, it’s a half-hour of reading in the library, followed by a mini-lesson from a teacher, culminating with a half-hour of writing.

For Engstrom, it’s the sort of ongoing activity that can appeal to young families.

“That’s the kind of stuff that’s just as cool as it gets,” Engstrom said following Stepan’s report. “That’s going to have an impact on test scores, but also the whole culture and climate of the school.”

It’s not expected that students attend Literacy Club every day. Instead, the young students can pick and choose the days they go. Stepan said the school is looking to add a kindergarten-through-second grade component after the holiday break. Funding for the activity extends through the 2023-24 school year, she said.

“We try to make it like it’s this big deal,” Stepan said.

The school board will meet again Monday for a 6:30 p.m. Truth in Taxation hearing, followed by the final meeting of the year at 7 p.m. The audit will be presented during the meeting.