WELCOME
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The Business Services Department provides professional services that support the school district’s educational and operational goals while being responsible for the overall fiscal management of the district. This includes Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Budget, Annual Audit, Payroll & Benefits, and Student Accounting.
HOW DOES SCHOOL FUNDING WORK?
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Video List MN School Funding 101
Author:Length:Video List MN Special Education Funding-Simple & Easy
Author:Length:
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: SCHOOL FUNDING AND BUDGETING
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We encourage our school staff and community to learn more about school finance. Please view the "School Funding and Budgeting" presentation below. Contact Amy Hafemann, Finance Director, or Superintendent Matt Helgerson with questions. We are happy to provide insight on what can be a complicated subject.
General Fund Expenditures by Program Code
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This document details the different categories in educating a student as regulated by MDE. Current ISD717 staff is noted in each category. Unless noted, these come out of the general fund.
Budget Reduction Ideas: Community Engagement 1/29/2020
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Budget Reduction Ideas: 1/29/2020
Ideas generated and shared by small groups consisting of community members, school board members and staff at the Budget Reduction Community Engagement Meeting held on Wednesday, January 29th, 2020.
- Cut vocational busing (look at liability waiver)
- Would BP want to share costs?
- BP doesn’t current bus
- Would BP want to share costs?
- Freeze athletic uniform cycles
- Increase activities/athletics fees
- Increase parking fees
- Increase gate fees for contests and games
- Early buyout options-retirement packages
- Reduce honors programming at JES and JMS
- Class size thresholds increase at all buildings to reduce teaching staff
- 5-8 consider low 30s
- Elective thresholds at HS increase to reduce teaching staff
- Hard enforcement of busing routes
- SRO (Review agreement with City)
- City picking up more
- Increasing parent supply fees
- Review and evaluation of need for special education director position
- TOSA/instructional coach position reduction (Teacher On Special Assignment) (see value, but need to reduce and consider bringing back when they can be afforded)
- Reorganize the equity specialist position
- Use existing staff for behavioral support
- Reduce/streamline the number of electives at our secondary buildings
- Use Jordan Boosters to assist with uniform cycle versus taking out of district funds
- Look at highest “passion cuts” to insure voters turn out next referendum and follow through with them
- Look at using free versus paid programming (ie: Google Classroom in place of Schoology)
- Eliminate 6th period pay for teachers
- Reorganize teacher schedules and assignments to create efficienciesR
- eview administrative assistant needs and/or duties (check coding of salary and benefits)
- Review the Joint Powers Agreement with the City of Jordan
- Staff Development - can this go to General Fund
- Reduction of non-special education paraprofessionals and/or reorganize paraprofessionals to create efficiencies
- Reduce classroom supply budgets
- Add more fundraising
- Gifted and talented - can it be run more efficiently?
- Cut honors programming for 6th through 10th grade
- Develop computer science or GT courses to attract more students and raise money
- Look at school athletics and shift to clubs
- Reduce HS and MS paraprofessionals due to low student to paraprofessional ratios
- Expand revenue opportunities to capitalize on enrollment trends
- Think about using Targeted Services to run some programming
- Enforce the 1 mile bus radius for K-6 and 2 mile bus radius for 7-12 and review crosswalk supervision/hazardous roadway designation
- Charge a “ride for fee” if students live within these boundaries
- Cut MS activities
- Where there are traveling organizations
- Consider staggered starts for our schools to save on transportation costs
- Reduce the working hours for paraprofessionals
- Review K-2 class sizes
- Reduce or stop irrigating the fields and grounds
- End use of subs for data days and other professional development days
- Eliminate the use of Kelly Services as sub finding service
- Decrease the amount of RTI (response to intervention) programming in the ES and MS
- Consider larger class sizes of 50-60 for lecture based classes such as social studies
- Consider 4 day school week
- Review number of assistant coaches a program can have
- Some assistants paid from Booster Account now
- Add more supplies to class lists for parents to purchase
Other Notes
- Restricted/Reserved Accounts - don’t help with unassigned fund balance
- Look at marketing and branding costs - restricted/reserved account
- Community Ed reductions were talked about, but doesn’t help as it is a different fund
Amendment of Contracts
- Questions about admin benefits and teacher benefits
- These are negotiated items and need to work through collective bargaining process
- Questions about insurance contributions for certain employee groups
- These are negotiated items and need to work through collective bargaining process
- Another Referendum?
- Questions surrounding whether or not the district plans to run a referendum again in the near future
- Community engagement survey will be conducted in late April/May to determine why this past fall’s referendum failed and what, if any type of referendum and tax increase the public may support in the future
- Run another referendum with basic needs only
- A survey and strong citizen group is important
- Questions surrounding whether or not the district plans to run a referendum again in the near future
- Other Notes/Questions from groups
- Cut non-essential positions
- Review equity issues prior to making cuts
- Follow through with cuts outlined in fall 2019 referendum discussions
- Retain great staff
- Choose cut items with the least impact on kids
- Need to make sure reductions are felt so voters understand the needs
- “Untouchables” need to include our SRO, ES class size levels and our Summit Academy
- Cut vocational busing (look at liability waiver)
CONTACT US
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Amy Hafemann
Finance Director
ahafemann@isd717.org
952-492-4373 direct
952-492-6200 main
952-492-4445 fax
500 Sunset Drive, Suite #1
Jordan, MN 55352
Nicky Knapp
Accounts Payable/
Receivable Coordinator
nknapp@isd717.org
952-492-4222 direct
952-492-6200 main
952-492-4445 fax
500 Sunset Drive, Suite #1
Jordan, MN 55352