PAS budget wish list released

Recommended improvements of $427,000 include new staff and expanded preschool


Pipestone Area Schools (PAS) administrators have recommended $427,000 in improvements for the 2017-18 school year.

The administrative team that came up with the suggestions includes the superintendent, district principals, business manager, activities director and maintenance supervisor.

At the top of their list is the hiring of a director of curriculum, teaching and learning, something Kevin Enerson, PAS superintendent, has supported since he was hired by the school district last summer. The director would align the school district’s curriculum with state standards, assess learner outcomes, lead staff development and analyze assessment data.

“There are about 12 content areas that we really should be looking to align and we need leadership in that,” Enerson said.

The school district currently has a curriculum coordinator one day a week through the Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative (SW/WC co-op), but Enerson said that’s not enough.

Also on the list is a technology integrationist and technology assistant.

The district currently has a technology integrationist one day a week through the Co-op, but again, Enerson said that’s not enough. He said the position would provide full-time support for teachers and students for the school district’s one-to-one technology initiative and help teachers integrate technology into their classrooms. The technology assistant would replace an existing part-time position and provide added time and support for the technology initiative.

The administrative team also recommended expanding the preschool program. Enerson said approximately 45 percent of PAS kindergarten students did not attend preschool as a four-year-old, and 90 percent of those students are not ready for kindergarten. The administrative team recommended partnering with providers in the community to provide all four-year-olds with a preschool experience.

An added social worker was also on the list. Enerson said there is a need for additional social worker services at the school district and that adding a social worker would allow more time for guidance counseling.

The final item on the list was partnering with Minnesota West Community and Technical College to provide education in the construction trades.

Administrators listed other potential improvements, but Enerson said the additional staff, pre-school and Minnesota West items were the most important. Enerson said
$373,800 of the cost could be offset by reducing current services from the Co-op, an expected increase in state funding, an expected reduction in special education costs, and staffing adjustments, including retirements, reallocation and overtime reduction. That left the district with approximately $54,000 to find.

Early budget projections presented by Enerson show that amount may not be available in the 2017-18 budget, which has an expected deficit of $474,176. He said the figures are very conservative, as usual, and that the actual bottom line wouldn’t likely be that bad based on previous years’ outcomes. Last year, for example, the district projected a $578,978 deficit, but ended the year with a surplus of $184,989.

“When you see this deficit of $500,000 basically, in our budget, it’s not really panic mode yet,” Enerson said.

If the budget does end with a deficit, Enerson said the district is in a position to cover some of the costs of the recommended improvements with a fund balance that contains around $3.8 million.

“Our fund balance right now is at a point where we could absorb a little bit if we need to and we don’t need to be quite so stringent,” Enerson told the school board.

Long-term funding for the recommended improvements could be part of the operating levy increase the school district plans to ask voters for later this year. That levy would replace the existing levy that expires at the end of the year.

The school board took no action, but supported proceeding with the list of top priorities.

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