P54, explain to who?? No one in the city government or city council give 2 shits about budgets.
Just raise the property taxes or hide it and increase the value of your property.
Meetings set on possible closure of two schools
At a special board meeting held Monday, Minot Public Schools Superintendent Mark Vollmer recommended the board take swift action to address the district’s budget deficit, saying, “our situation is not dire. Yet.”
Vollmer said the board should move quickly to set special board meetings at each school should they elect to consider the potential closure of Bell and McKinley elementary schools.
The purpose of the meetings would be to discuss impacts, potential options, and allow patrons and stakeholders to provide testimony. The board voted and passed motions to schedule the meetings, and for the district to provide as much information about the implementation of the possible closures.
“If you want to explore any changes to the current operating structure with Bell and McKinley, then you need to have a meeting with Bell and McKinley parents. If you have no desire to pursue that at this time, then we need to find other ways to close the delta.” Vollmer said, “If you want to continue this discussion, then we need to set up those meetings. You need to hear what the families are thinking.”
Board President Mike Gessner took a moment to ensure other board members understood the situation before they voted on setting the course to hold the meetings, which was passed 3-2 with Jason Kraft and Sabrina Herrman voting no. No dates for the school meetings were set before the meeting was adjourned.
Vollmer also recommended the board give careful consideration of running a referendum to support a building fund to “ease impact on general operating budget.” The new mills would be used to support building upkeep and maintenance. Such a vote would require 60% support from voters.
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ollmer began the meeting identifying types of efficiencies the board could pursue to address the financial reality facing the district. Though the board was aware of a $2.3 million budget deficit for the 2023/2024 school year, the situation was exacerbated by an enrollment decline of about 100 students, resulting in a dip in projected revenue from federal education dollars of $1,252,759.51. With another $2.9 million in anticipated realignment costs, the projected deficit for 2024/2025 is expected to be $6.6 million, or 5.32% of the budget.
Vollmer once again described such deficit levels as unmanageable. Th
ough the district’s cash reserves are more than $21 million, Vollmer cautioned that deficit spending would deplete the reserves within a few years.
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ollmer then dug into the enrollment numbers to explain where students have gone in the last year. A total of 772 students have left Minot Public Schools since the beginning of the 2023/2024 school year, though Vollmer noted that more than 600 new students had enrolled in the same year. About 249 students K-12 transferred to other schools within North Dakota, and 337 were out of state transfers mostly represented by students in military families.
Vollmer reviewed proposed efficiency born out of meetings with school administrators and staff. Possible solutions included a tightening of staffing in secondary classes that would require the cutting of classes with low enrollment, and applying close scrutiny on district-level positions created with lapsed federal funding. It was also proposed to reduce work with outside consultants and contractors that are not covered by federal grants, and decrease professional development travel budgets. Phase one would also include limiting online subscriptions to a needs only basis, and halting long distance out-of-town travel for middle school athletics.
District staff meetings found immediate impacts to the budget could be found by limiting supply orders, adopting a curriculum schedule to spread the costs of updating over a period of time. Another item proposed was a “parent pay” preschool program. Currently, the district offers pre-school services for special needs students and this option would provide programming supported by parent fees.
A realignment of support staff could see several positions combined but add benefits to promote retention. Phase II also included discussion of moving the district office to Central Campus, closing the annex for use as storage space and the sale of land owned by the district by Erik Ramstad.
Vollmer also offered a proposal from staff to consider open enrollment for out-of-district- students, as current policies only make exceptions for military-connected families. Vollmer said the tuition waiver system could be used to allow certain students to attend school in the district, but that it would need to be renewed annually.
The next board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 15.
City has stepped into some bad business\contractor deals, 2 parking garages come to mind.
And know this.
I thought I read yesterday that the below project would cost the city over $5 million. With $3.6 million coming from the last of the National Disaster Resilience Funds .
Minot City Council moves to acquire Broadway Circle
City hopes to mitigate need for tax dollars
Determined to finish Broadway Circle construction, the Minot City Council approved agreements Monday that would remove a nonprofit partner and give the city ownership.
The plan also would use $1.34 million of general fund reserves to pay off construction costs not covered by federal grant dollars and set aside $488,207 as a contingency against future costs.
The board for the nonprofit partner, Project BEE, also was to meet Monday to discuss the agreements.
If approved by both parties, the city would assume possession of the 17-unit affordable housing building under construction, the six-unit family shelter under construction, the remodeled space leased to The Lord’s Cupboard food pantry and the commercial space leased to a restaurant.
City Manager Harold Stewart said construction is scheduled for completion in October.
Council member Paul Pitner questioned whether the city might sell the leased space to the private sector to reduce the financial hit to the community.
Stewart responded that it has been discussed, but a sale also would impact the financial resources of a nonprofit looking at operating the shelter and the low- to moderate-income housing because the lease payments would no longer be part of that equation.
“My goal is to get this off of the city’s plate as quickly and as soon as possible,” Stewart said of Broadway Circle. “Staff has an interest in not having the responsibility of operating a homeless shelter or even a LMI-housing apartment unit or even commercial property that is, arguably, profitable.”
Minot resident Rob Fuller objected to the council’s handling of the matter.
“You guys are making decisions on how to spend our money, our taxes that we’ve paid in, without any input from us,” he said. “This is something that needs to be done, but I don’t believe it’s something that needs to be done on the taxpayer’s dime.”
He questioned spending $1.3 million to complete construction with no indication of who will operate Broadway Circle.
“How much money is it going to cost us?” he said. “What if we can’t find anybody to run it? Then how are we going to support it? You’re going to raise our property taxes more, whether it be through the mills or through the assessed value. So it’s back on the taxpayers again.”
Council member Carrie Evans said the nonprofit community is working hard on this.
“This is something that is very important to the community and to our nonprofit leaders, and I’m fully confident we’re going to either identify another nonprofit to step forward or one will be formed that can competently and responsibly do this job,” she said.
Stewart said city staff are working to find other sources of funding to reduce or avoid the need to use general reserve dollars.
“I would hope the city does everything to turn over, to look under every rock, to do everything we can to get as little of this money to come out of reserves,” Burlingame said. “I don’t want one dime of city dollars to go to this that doesn’t need to go to it.
“We are here today because of the mismanagement of two nonprofit organizations – LSS (Lutheran Social Services) and Project BEE – and the situation is made worse by lack of a coordinated community effort. It’s a communitywide failure, and we have to do better,” Burlingame said.
Burlingame suggested a community advisory committee be formed to oversee the eventual transition of Broadway Circle to a nonprofit. He said the committee should be tasked with ensuring a nonprofit operating the homeless shelter and affordable housing has adequate ability to do so and has financial controls in place.
Stewart said the city vetted Project BEE to ensure the organization would have its share of funds available before entering a contract. However, between unplanned construction costs and some Project BEE dollars going to other uses, funding fell about $892,668 short, he said. He said the council may consider at a future time whether to pursue that money from Project BEE.
For the city to step in, it would need to terminate subrecipient agreements with Project BEE on the 17-unit low-income housing project and family homeless shelter, both under construction. The city would need to assume the construction contracts with Mattson Construction, on which $4.48 million is still owing, and with EAPC for construction management, on which $26,916 is owing, according to the city manager. The city has just over $3.6 million remaining in National Disaster Resilience Funds for Broadway Circle.
Sorry for the long read.
What a disaster.
