Minnesota district takes $1.26M from general fund to pay for SPED; "vexing problem"

Feb 25, 2019, KSTP TV, Minneapolis, MN: New special education funding formula surprises school districts https://kstp.com/politics/new-special-education-funding-formula-surprises-school-districts/5258690/ Public school funding in Minnesota seems to be a vexing problem every year in Minnesota and 2019 is no exception. This year, many school districts are being caught by surprise because of a special education funding formula passed in 2016 that is just now going into effect. … Devine says his district needs to cut $1.26 million from its general fund budget to pay for special education services. This comes just over a year after Waconia voters approved a new operating levy of $525 per student to help pay its expenses. Now the district has to figure out how to pay special education "cross subsidies" from the general fund that have risen from $687 per student in 2015 to a projected $1,210 in 2019. … Waconia isn't the only district dealing with a gap when it comes to funding special education. The Department of Education tracks "cross-subsidies" across Minnesota which is defined as the difference between the cost to provide special education and the money the district receives from the state and federal government to pay for it.