>> ERIC: FULL SHOW FOR YOU TONIGHT.

WE'LL CATCH UP ON WHERE THINGS ARE WITH UBER AND LYFT THREATENING TO LEAVE THE TWIN CITIES.

SHARON STITELER, OUR FAVORITE BIRDER, IS BACK IN MINNESOTA AND BACK IN STUDIO B WITH US.

ALSO HERE TONIGHT, STATE HEALTH COMMISSIONER BROOKE CUNNINGHAM AND ST.

CLOUD MAYOR DAVE KLEIS.

>> CATHY: WE START TONIGHT WITH THE BIG BUDGET DEFICITS FACING THE MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL SCHOOL SYSTEMS.

BOTH DISTRICTS ARE SCRAMBLING TO PLUG BUDGET HOLES OF MORE THAN $100 MILLION, AND PROPOSED CUTS WOULD RESULT IN FEWER TEACHERS WITH LARGER CLASS SIZES, AS WELL AS LOSS OF FUNDING FOR WORLD LANGUAGES, BAND CLASSES, AND MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES.

BECKY DERNBACH COVERS EDUCATION FOR THE SAHAN JOURNAL AND HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THESE PROPOSALS ACROSS THE METRO.

GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.

>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

>> Cathy: THIS IS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING THAT'S NOT JUST FOCUSED ON MINNEAPOLIS AND St. PAUL.

AS I MENTIONED, THERE ARE A LOT OF DISTRICTS AROUND MINNESOTA THAT ARE LOOKING AT BUDGET SHORTFALLS.

WHAT'S GOING ON?

>> YOU MAY REMEMBER, FOUR YEARS AGO, AROUND THIS TIME, WE WERE DEALING WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, AND CONGRESS RESPONDED WITH THIS PRETTY RARE INFUSION OF FEDERAL FUNDS INTO PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

AND GAVE SCHOOLS UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2024 TO SPEND THAT MONEY.

SO THAT CLOCK IS RUNNING OUT.

AND, SO, DISTRICTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE FACING WHAT IS CALLED A FISCAL CLIFF OF THE MONEY'S RUNNING OUT, NOW THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH WHATEVER BUDGET PROBLEMS THEY HAD BEFORE THE PANDEMIC AND NEW PROBLEMS THAT HAVE ARISEN SINCE THEN WITHOUT THAT MONEY SOURCE THAT WAS REALLY FUELING DISTRICTS FOR THE LAST MANY YEARS.

>> Eric: MINNEAPOLIS HAS KICKED THIS CAN -- WHATEVER SCHOOL BOARD IT'S BEEN THE LAST YEARS -- THEY'VE KICKED THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD PRETTY REGULARLY, HAVEN'T THEY?

>> YES.

SO -- YEAH.

SO MINNEAPOLIS HAS BEEN DEALING WITH BUDGET DEFICITS FOR A LONG IME NOW, AND THEY WERE FACING BUDGET DEFICITS OF SOMETHING LIKE $33 MILLION IN 2018, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PLUG THOSE HOLES, AND THEN THE COVID MONEY CAME AND THEY REALLY WERE ABLE TO USE THAT TO SORT OF FILL OUT THEIR BUDGET FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS AND NOW THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT ANYMORE.

BUT, AT THE SAME TIME, A LOT OF THINGS HAVE CHANGED.

MINNEAPOLIS HAS BEEN FACING ENROLLMENT DECLINES FOR A WHILE, BUT THERE'S BEEN SO MUCH THAT'S HAPPENED, YOU KNOW, THE PANDEMIC, THE MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD, AND THE SUBSEQUENT UPRISING, THERE WAS A CONTROVERSIAL REDISTRICTING PLAN IN MINNEAPOLIS, THERE WAS A THREE-WEEK TEACHER STRIKE.

SO THE ENROLLMENT DECLINES IN MINNEAPOLIS REALLY WERE A LOT OF STEEPER THAN EXPECTED.

AND AT THE SAME TIME INFLATION HAS PUSHED UP COSTS.

SO NOW THE BUDGET HOLE IS WORSE THAN IT WAS IN 2018.

>> Cathy: IT'S QUITE A MESS, OBVIOUSLY.

>> YEAH.

>> Cathy: I WENT TO COOPER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS, I DROVE BY THE BUILDING LAST WEEK, AND IT'S BEEN CLOSED FOR A LONG TIME.

>> UM-HUM.

>> Cathy: I KNOW MINNEAPOLIS HAS A LOT OF BUILDINGS LIKE COOPER THAT ARE JUST KIND OF MOTHBALLED.

COULD THEY SELL SOME OF THESE BUILDINGS AND RAISE SOME MONEY?

>> POTENTIALLY.

BUT THEY'RE ALSO THINKING ABOUT POTENTIALLY CLOSING OTHER SCHOOLS.

AND THAT'S A CONVERSATION THAT, AGAIN, THEY'VE BEEN PUTTING OFF FOR A WHILE AND ANOTHER FACTOR IS THEY'VE BEEN WITHOUT A PERMANENT SUPERINTENDENT FOR A YEAR AND A HALF UNTIL RECENTLY.

SO THEY HAVE BEEN SORT OF PUTTING OFF MAKING SOME F THESE BIGGER DECISIONS.

SO I THINK THAT AS WE GET INTO THE FALL, WE'RE GOING TO BE HEARING MORE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CLOSING MORE SCHOOLS.

>> Eric: WHAT WILL IMPACT -- WHAT MPACT WILL THIS HAVE ON THE KIDS?

ACHIEVEMENT GAP, ET CETERA.

>> SO I THINK THAT WHERE A LOT OF KIDS ARE GOING TO NOTICE THIS IS IN THEIR CLASS SIZES.

THE DISTRICT IS PROPOSING, IN MINNEAPOLIS, AN INCREASE OF THREE ADDITIONAL IDS PER CLASS IN SCHOOLS THAT WHERE FEWER THAN 70% OF STUDENTS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR FREE AND REDUCED-PRICE LUNCH.

SO WE'RE TALKING, LIKE, 27 KINDERGARTENERS IN A CLASS, 31 FOURTH GRADERS, 35 MIDDLE SCHOOLERS.

SO I THINK THAT'S WHERE -- THAT'S GOING TO BE -- THAT'S WHERE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FEEL IT, THEY'RE GOING TO LOSE SOME TEACHERS.

THEY'RE ALSO GOING TO BE LOSING SOME SUPPORT STAFF.

THERE WERE READING AND MATH SUPPORT STAFF IN SCHOOLS TO HELP THE ACADEMIC CHALLENGES THAT CAME FROM THE PANDEMIC OR THAT WERE EXACERBATED BY THE PANDEMIC AND A LOT OF THOSE STAFF WILL BE CUT.

>> Cathy: YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT CUTTING TEACHING POSITIONS.

DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY?

BECAUSE, WELL, THEY JUST HAD A NEW CONTRACT, A FAIRLY, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE YEARS AGO.

>> YEAH.

>> Cathy: INCREASE TEACHER SALARIES.

SO NOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LAYOFFS POTENTIALLY.

HOW MANY TEACHERS?

>> IT'S NOT TOTALLY CLEAR YET.

THE BUDGET IN MINNEAPOLIS IS SORT OF DIVIDED INTO PARTS AND IN ONE PART THEY'VE BEEN CLEAR THAT ABOUT 200 STAFF POSITIONS WILL BE AFFECTED.

THAT'S LIKE THE DISTRICT LEVEL CUTS.

BUT THE SCHOOL EVEL CUTS, WE HAVEN'T SEEN A CLEAR NUMBER FOR THAT YET.

IN St. PAUL, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT CUTTING ABOUT 115 TEACHERS.

>> Eric: IN THE FUNDING FORMULA, ENROLLMENT IS KEY.

>> YES.

>> Eric: AND I WONDER IF IMMIGRANT STUDENTS IN MINNEAPOLIS ARE GOING TO RIDE TO THE RESCUE HERE, JACK UP ENROLLMENT.

>> YEAH.

SO THAT IS AN INTERESTING QUESTION THAT I ASKED HE DISTRICT ABOUT THAT, AND I, MEAN, THEY HAVE SEEN A LOT OF NEW IMMIGRANT STUDENTS AND THAT HAS BEEN HELPING REVERSE BE THE ENROLLMENT DECLINE.

BUT THAT ALSO MEANS THAT THOSE STUDENTS REQUIRE A LOT OF SUPPORT, PARTICULARLY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING AND THE LEGISLATURE LAST YEAR INCREASED FUNDING TO SUPPORT ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS, BUT HISTORICALLY THE SCHOOLS PAY WAY MORE FOR THOSE SERVICES THAN THE STATE REIMBURSES THEM FOR, AND THE AMOUNT THE STATE INCREASED IT BY IS NOT REALLY SET TO -- IT'S NOT SET TO GET ITS FULL INCREASES UNTIL 2026, WHICH IS TWO YEARS FROM NOW.

SO THE DISTRICT TOLD ME, WE DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE GOING TO GET FROM THESE STUDENTS, BUT WE'RE -- YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE, BUT WE KNOW THAT THE STATE IS NOT PROVIDING ENOUGH SUPPORT.

>> Cathy: IS THERE A DEADLINE FOR SOME OF THESE DECISIONS TO BE MADE, END OF JUNE?

>> YEAH, END OF JUNE, STATUTE REQUIRES DISTRICTS TO FINALIZE THEIR BUDGETS.

>> Cathy: THANK YOU.

>> Eric: THANKS