By: News Director Larissa Donovan
BEMIDJI– The Bemidji Area School Board is scheduled to consider adopting the 2019 budget and budget projections during their meeting this Monday.
According to a briefing included in school board documents from Finance Director Chris Leinen, the current financial planning model projects the next school year to have general fund revenues of $66.891 million and expenses of $67.151 million, for an operating variance of a negative $260,000.
The state per-pupil-funding formula is projected to increase from $6,312 to $6,438, and the special education funding is expected to increase as well.
The state legislature failed to address the transportation shortfall during this past session, and in Leinen’s words, “a proposed ‘working group’ to study the transportation disparities was used to kick the can down the road for at least another two years.”
The district expects to lose 60 students to the new Charter School opening this fall, representing a loss of over $472,000.
