BEMIDJI-Leaders at Bemidji Area Schools are set to meet early next week to figure out the district's finances, including how they can handle a projected $1.3 million budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year.
Board members agreed last week to schedule a special meeting for 6 p.m. Monday, April 8, in the school district's Minnesota Avenue headquarters. There, they're set to discuss the district's finances and "staffing adjustments," plus learn some specifics about Bemidji High School's career academies.
District administrators told school board members last month that the school district's projected revenue in the 2019-2020 school year will increase $529,000 to about $67.1 million, and it's expenses will shoot up $1.2 million to $68.4 million.
There are a handful of factors still up in the air-enrollment as a new charter school opens south of Bemidji and campaigns in St. Paul to hike school spending, for starters-but the deficit could easily translate to job or other spending cuts.
The new fiscal year begins July 1. School districts typically set their budgets for it in June.
