Action of the School Board Action of the School Board 03/16/15 | Page 3

ance in 2015-16, reducing that from 10 percent to 7.7 percent or $35.6 million. Spending cuts
would be needed in 2016-17.
This strategy is similar to what has been done in years past to try maintain programs as
long as possible without cuts. “We’ve made the decision to have stability in our programs
and not make reductions ahead of knowing what our funding is,” said Vargas. “The fund
balance is available to take that reduction.”
The Governor is expected to release an updated budget in the coming days. It’s expected
the legislature will set school funding levels for the next biennium in mid-May. Between
now and then, the district is keeping an eye on several proposed bills that could impact the
state budget as well as gathering feedback on possible reductions. Public hearings will be
held in January 2016 if it’s determined that reductions are needed for the 2016-17 school
year. If the board decides to propose a referendum levy to generate additional revenue,
hearings would be held in September 2015 prior to the election.
Anoka-Hennepin relies heavily on state aid. It receives 77 percent of revenue from the state
and 18 percent from property taxpayers (federal revenue is three percent; other local revenue is two percent). The district currently spends:
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75 percent on instruction.
9.5 percent on student support.
8.7 percent on facilities operation and maintenance.
3 percent on district support.
2.5 percent on administration.
1.3 percent on other items.

View the presentation in its entirety on the March 16 School Board agenda.

Elementary and Secondary Education
2015-16 Enrollment Projections

Dr. Joel VerDuin, chief technology officer, and Mary James, educational data coordinator,
presented the 2015-16 enrollment projections to the School Board.
Enrollment projections are developed using a variety of sources including building permits
issued by cities within the district boundary, number of live births in Hennepin and Anoka
counties, preschool census population counts as well as historical and potential growth patterns of enrollment.
The 2015-16 projection is for 36,396 students to attend Anoka-Hennepin schools next year, a
drop of 82 students from this year’s official 36,478 enrollment figure.
“We are at a slight decline, but I would consider that decline to be near stable,” VerDuin
told the board. “It’s a very insignificant decline compared to what we’ve been through.”
Stabilization in enrollment is good news, he said, pointing out that declining enrollment
impacts school districts very hard. “It has a very significant effect on the budget and a very
significant effect on staffing,” VerDuin said.
According to the enrollment report, Anoka-Hennepin had a peak of 40,151 students in 2004,
but has shed more than 3,670 students in the 10 years since. But VerDuin said even those
numbers could be changing. He pointed to Anoka and Hennepin counties experiencing
growth in birth rates this year. “We’re getting close to 21,000 live births in a year, and that’s
pretty much a high mark for the last 10 to 15 years of data,” he said. “It is a positive sign.”

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The full report can be found in the March 16 School Board agenda.