Sioux Falls School District sets budget guidelines that could mean up to 4% in cuts
The Sioux Falls School District is considering budgeting for fiscal year 2024 at 100%, 99% or 96% of its current budget capacity.
These three options mean the district could cut none, 1% or even 4% of its budget in different general and special education cost centers, respectively.
“If you look out over our five-year plan, we kind of call for overall a 4% cut over a four-year period,” district business manager Todd Vik said. “The 4% is trying to get the budget makers in the mind(set) of, ‘What might my budget look like four years from now?’”
“Significant reduction line items” are being prepared by central leadership and budget advisory teams in committed funds cost centers, too, according to the budget guidelines laid out by the district.
Staff will need to justify each program’s need for existence based upon research or performance data. If a program requests to expand, that program must also make an off-setting reduction in a different program within the subset.
The school board passed this plan of “budget guidelines” Monday night during its meeting.
Board vice president Carly Reiter said this process is similar to what the board agrees upon each year and helps the district stay on track and consider things like COVID-19 funding.
“I think it’s always important that people look at the effectiveness of the programs that we currently have so that we’re not just renewing things, because it’s what we’ve done, but looking at what has made the biggest difference,” Reiter said.
Nineteen different committees with a total of 150 members, including teachers, community members, district staff and administrators, will begin preparations on the budget in the coming weeks, Vik said.
The budget review committee will meet in March with two school board members to begin finalizing the budget.
Board reviews postsecondary enrollment of district graduates
After reviewing the budget guidelines, the board also heard a report on graduates’ postsecondary enrollment.The Bureau of Labor and Statistics estimates by 2026, 65% of all jobs will require postsecondary education, Assistant Superintendent Teresa Boysen explained Monday night.
“Employers in computer programming, healthcare and community services will be looking for cognitive skills such as active listening, the ability to communicate effectively, teamwork, customer service, problem-solving and leadership -- all skills developed during high school years,” according to a report Boysen prepared.
How does Sioux Falls stack up to that estimate?
Sioux Falls graduates’ postsecondary enrollment doesn’t quite match up to that statistic yet, as Boysen presented data from the National Student Clearinghouse that showed of graduates from the Class of 2014 through the Class of 2021, on average, 57% went on to attend a postsecondary institution in the fall immediately after graduation.
Another 6% of graduates will enroll in postsecondary education any time within two years of their graduation, Boysen’s report stated.
However, both Boysen and Superintendent Jane Stavem noted there are some difficulties in using NSC data, as it requires students to allow NSC to use their student data, doesn’t count students who enter the military and can miscount students who transfer between institutions.
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In 2021, for example, there were 1,458 graduates but only 807 of them gave permission for their information to be shared with NSC.
Board member Cynthia Mickelson noted some corporations are now removing college degrees as a job requirement because of the tight labor market.
“That is also what probably adds to the numbers, especially the job market the last two years has been so tight,” Mickelson said. “People are not seeing that as a necessary item to get into the job market.”
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Here's what Sioux Falls School District may weigh for the 2024 budget
