Schools
District Could Weather Two Months of Government Shutdown
The Minneapolis Board of Education got its first look at next year's budget on Tuesday night.
If a state government shutdown happens, Minneapolis Public Schools could weather up to two months without routine payments from the state, district staff said Tuesday.
The district's financial prospects depend on how state government moves into the shutdown.
"The good news about education funding is that education funding is an open and standing appropriation," said Jim Grathwol, the district's lobbyist. This means that even if the legislature does not pass any bills appropriating money to schools before a June 30 shutdown deadline, the money will theoretically continue to flow.
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But if the person who signs the district's checks isn't deemed "necessary" the district could be cut off, Grathwol said.
The uncertainty of the situation worries district administrators.
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"I'm quite concerned with the lack of movement happening over at St Paul," said Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson. "I'm not trying to say that there's a fire in the theater, but by the way, there's something kindling."
To deal with a potential state government shutdown that becomes more likely each day, Chief Financial Officer Peggy Ingison said the district would use money left over from this year's budget to bridge the gap.
Ingison's office estimates that the district will have $85,680,739 left to spend on July 1 of this year, representing about 16 percent of the district's yearly budget that hasn't been set aside for things like new buildings or paying off debt. Many school districts strive to maintain this kind of emergency money, called a "positive fund balance."
"We could manage without [state] funding for a couple of months," Ingison said.
If the shutdown goes on for very long, though, it could start to impact the district's planned budget for next year, which was also presented last night. The budget uses almost $16.5 million from this contingency fund to cushion cuts caused by the district's $26 million deficit.
"The fact that we have to set this money aside means is not available for student needs," Ingison said. "While we have ways we can manage it, it's not at all ideal."
