South St. Paul Schools approves $1.5M budget despite enrollment decline
The South St. Paul Public Schools board unanimously approved its 2025-2026 budget on June 24, securing funding after successfully advocating to recover compensatory aid that was at risk of being cut by $1.5 million.
The district's budget proposal passed 7-0, with Finance Director Chath presenting a spending plan that dedicates 80% of resources to salaries and benefits—the core of the district's mission to educate students. Despite facing headwinds from declining enrollment, a metro-wide trend driven by lower birth rates, the district balanced its budget through strategic planning and effective advocacy at the state capital.
Chath highlighted a significant long-term challenge: state funding has not kept pace with inflation over the past 22 years. While Minnesota provided a modest increase for the upcoming fiscal year with new inflation indexing, the gap between what schools need and what they receive remains substantial. The district's fund balance exceeds policy targets, providing some financial cushion.
A major victory came through the district's advocacy efforts regarding compensatory aid—funding tied to student poverty levels. When the state's universal free meals program threatened this funding stream, district leaders and community members successfully lobbied legislators to not only preserve the aid but increase it. The additional funding will be directed entirely to student supports in schools.
In other business, the board unanimously approved the 2025-2026 Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, which Amy Winter from Educational Services described as "a resource for our families, our students and staff just so that everyone has shared understandings around what our expectations and policies throughout the district" are. Changes were primarily cosmetic updates and adjustments to reflect new state legislation and the district's core values.
The board also approved a special work session for July 30 at 5 p.m. to review evaluation tools aligned with the district's new strategic plan—structured around three pillars: Packer Performance, Packer Pride, and Packer Promise. The session will also launch a two-year agenda for implementing the plan district-wide. One routine vote on financial claims and staffing matters passed 5-2, with Director Weber and Chair Hume dissenting for reasons discussed in a prior work session.
Our proprietary artificial intelligence agent analyzed publicly available documents including meeting agendas, minutes, and transcripts to write this story to help inform local residents. Feedback helps us improve, so please consider rating how we did with the thumbs up or down below.
Go deeper on this topic
Research related meeting documents and build a brief — without rewriting the story.
Full analysis
Votes (4)
Approval of Consent Items (Financial Claims, Bills Payable, Staffing)
Dissent: Director Weber [0:46:42], Chair Hume [0:46:48] (as implied by 'me as well')
Moved by Unknown [0:46:12] · Seconded by Unknown [0:46:13]
Standard approval of routine financial and staffing matters. No public discussion was held, but dissent was noted for reasons discussed in a prior work session.
Approval of the 2025-2026 Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [0:47:56] · Seconded by Unknown [0:47:57]
Amy Winter presented the handbook, emphasizing its role as a resource for shared understanding of expectations and policies. She clarified that changes were primarily cosmetic or updates based on new information/legislation, such as the district's core values. The board had previously discussed the handbook in a work session.
Approval of the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget Proposal
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [0:49:13] · Seconded by Unknown [0:49:15]
District Finance Director Chath provided an in-depth presentation covering fund categories, the multi-stage budget process, declining enrollment trends (a metro-wide issue), revenue assumptions (including a modest state aid increase with inflation indexing), and expenditure forecasts (80% dedicated to salaries and benefits). He highlighted the challenge of balancing the budget amidst rising costs and the success of securing compensatory aid. Board members commended his thorough work and community advocacy.
Approval of Special Work Session on Wednesday, July 30th at 5:00 PM
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [1:23:41] · Seconded by Unknown [1:23:42]
The special work session is scheduled for the board to review and retreat on updated evaluation tools tied to the new strategic plan, ensuring alignment in district work and Dr. Zambbrino's leadership. The session will also discuss launching a two-year agenda.
Notable Quotes (3)
Yeah, the family rights and responsibility handbook. It's just a resource for our families, our students and staff just so that everyone has shared understandings around um what our expectations and policies throughout the district and throughout each site.
Even though um the state did provide some increase here in fiscal year 25, but in my my next slide here, this is this is a very interesting slide. in the last 22 years. 2003 was where our CPI and state funding actually was pretty much aligned. But fast forward 22 years, you see that gap right there. You know, we have a huge gap.
because we are in a business to teach kids. um we are not manufacturing anything here. We're in a business to teach and educate our lovely kids here. 80% of our budget goes to salaries and benefits.
Ordinances & Resolutions (8)
State/federal funding program overseen by Educational Services; mentioned for early learning teachers' LETTERS training and its impact on literacy.
State/federal funding program overseen by Educational Services.
Official document outlining student expectations, policies, and processes for the upcoming school year.
The proposed financial plan for the district's operations in the next fiscal year.
The district's long-term strategic framework with three core pillars.
A tool being developed to measure progress and define success for the strategic plan.
A rapid cycle improvement model used for progress monitoring and adjustments in implementing the strategic plan.
MDE's finance reporting system for data cleansing and audit processes.
Source document
Was this story helpful?
Other Topics from This Document
Summer Programming and Student Support Initiatives
Compensatory Aid Advocacy and Recovery
District Strategic Planning and Performance Monitoring
Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget Proposal
Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook Review
Want to know when new stories arrive?
Enter your email to receive updates.
We will not use your email for any other purpose. You can unsubscribe at any time.