Action of the School Board Action of the School Board 02/23/15 | Page 4

The plan’s integration goal calls for sustaining enrollment in NWSISD magnet programs.
The district currently operates five magnet schools that are open to all students from
throughout the consortium. It also operates five specialty schools that are open to students
outside their attendance area through in-district transfer and open enrollment. In addition, the district participates in several cross-district programs with students from racially
isolated districts.
The AIM budget funds a range of programs, strategies and activities related to college and
career readiness, professional development, research-based interventions to help secondary
students with reading, the student achievement advis ory positions, and recruitment and
retention of a diverse staff.
The proposed AIM budget for 2015-16 calls for revenues of $5.3 million, down just over
$400,000 from the current year. Approximately 72 percent of expenditures will be in student
support, 20 percent in staff development and five percent on administration.
Board Chair Tom Heidemann praised the plan and budget as being student achievement
oriented. “It’s phenomenal,” he said. He said the district has one of the lowest achievement
gaps in the state, but said the district will take that even further.
The board will consider action on the AIM budget at the March 16 meeting. It must be submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education by March 18.

Math Action Plan presented

Dr. Cyndie Hays, chief academic officer, presented to the School Board an update on the
K-5 math action plan.
Hays said her office and the district’s math teaching and learning specialists have been
working on development of a plan that utilizes the resources of the board-approved “Everyday Mathematics” curriculum, but also aligns with Minnesota’s K-12 academic standards for math.
The plan prioritizes professional development time to focus on the “Everyday Mathematics” structure, the development of assessment practices to help teachers with intervention
and differentiation, and maintains rigor, Hays said. It also helps both new and experienced
teachers understand the structure of “Everyday Mathematics.”

Finance

Preliminary budget for fiscal years 2016 and 2017 presented

Michelle Vargas, chief financial officer, provided information on how Gov. Mark Dayton’s
proposed budget would impact Anoka-Hennepin School District. During the previous
meeting she had presented scenarios outlining the impact of no increase in funding as
well as two and four percent increases on the basic formula, which is the largest and most
significant source of funding.
Vargas reviewed revenue and expenditure assumptions and determined that a one percent increase would result in an estimated $4,783,496 deficit for 2015-16, and an estimated
$14,911,125 deficit for 2016-17. It’s likely that budget cuts would be made if the legislature
and Governor approved a 1 percent increase. The district would draw down its fund balance, or reserve, next year to continue programs and staffing at current levels, reducing the
balance from 9.1 percent to 7.7 percent of expenditures or $35.6 million. Expenses would
then need to be reduced for the 2016-17 school year. If not, the district’s fund balance would
dip to about 4 percent. The board has a goal of maintaining a minimum fund balance of 5
percent of expenditures, which is enough to operate the district for about two weeks.

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ACTION

This strategy is similar to what has been done in years past. “We’ve made the decision to
have stability in our programs and not make reductions ahead of knowing what our fund-