March 24, 2023

At its Special Meeting on March 21, the Board of Education considered $7 million in proposed budget cuts for the 2023-24 school year in order to balance the budget. In total, the Board of Education approved approximately $3.4 million in cuts, primarily at the school district’s central office and districtwide. Among these areas of cuts, the Board of Education requested additional information for further review at a Special Meeting on March 27. 

Cuts approved on March 21 included:

• Post-pandemic related cuts: adjusting LinK12 Lakeville Online School staffing; eliminating permanent substitutes; and adjusting high school staff to class size ratios

• District office reductions in the Business Office, Facilities Department, Communications and Public Relations Department, Technology/Student Information Department, Superintendent’s Office and the Board of Education

• Districtwide reductions: the elimination of the walker zone pay-to-ride bus program; balancing the Title 1 program; establishing starting salary limits for new hires; combining some staffing at the Area Learning Center and LinK12 Lakeville Online school; eliminating the use of unauthorized appliances; 0.5 FTE at Crystal Lake Education Center; establishing a facility user fee for use of facilities; and closing facilities for a few weeks during non-school days to save on utility/maintenance costs

The Board of Education requested more information on proposed district office/districtwide reductions amounting to approximately $2 million, which include: 

• District office reductions and restructures in the Teaching and Learning Department, Special Education Department, and Student Services Department

• Selling the current Area Learning Center (ALC) facility and moving the school to a ‘school-within-a-school’ model at Kenwood Trail Middle School to provide ALC students a newer facility, and for Capital funds for K-12 curriculum purchases

• Districtwide technology support restructures

• Reduction of hours for 260 day school-based administrative support employees to align work days more closely with other school-based employees

• Adjustment to the District's cell phone reimbursement program 

The Board of Education will consider elementary, middle and high school level proposed reductions that amount to approximately $1.6 million at the March 27 Special Meeting. School level reductions proposed include:

• Elementary level: reducing two Elementary Assistant Principal positions; allocating administrative support hours based upon student enrollment; adding a STEM class for Kindergarten and reducing one of the two Kindergarten music periods to align with Grades 1-5; adjusting class sizes to align to district guidelines at Orchard Lake Elementary; 1.0 FTE clerical/program support in Ignite!; and 1.0 behavioral support at Cherry View Elementary 

• Middle school level: course and schedule adjustments to align with the Minnesota Department of Education English Language Arts Standards and to comply with the Minnesota Department of Education Fine Arts Standards; and eliminating copy support at the middle school level

• High school level: establishment of a required minimum enrollment for all core and elective courses of 15 students or more; returning the early-bird class period to its original course offering parameters; and eliminating copy support at the high school level

Alternative adjustments the Board of Education may consider in lieu of items within the proposed plan include increasing elementary class sizes and eliminating middle school activities. 

The Board of Education will hold a Special Meeting on Monday, March 27 at 6 p.m. to consider the school level reductions proposed and pending district office/districtwide items from the March 21 Special Meeting. Due to the content being presented, the audio for this meeting will be available via livestream and recording on LETV. More information about the budget is available on the District website. 

View the Board Meeting

An audio recording of the March 21 meeting is available on LETV. For meeting materials, please visit Boardbook. Regular meetings of the Lakeville Area Board of Education will be conducted on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Lakeville Area Schools District Office, unless otherwise noted.