Bemidji Area Schools to Make Tough Decisions in Balancing Budget

Bemidji school officials say the district will be facing some difficult decisions in the coming months as work begins on trying to balance the school district’s budget.

An operating referendum that would have provided the district $2.5 million per year for the next 10 years was voted down by district residents earlier this month. Tonight at the Bemidji Area Schools board meeting, Superintendent Tim Lutz said that means the district will now be looking at everything from staffing and program cuts to class size policy, bus routes, administrative costs, activities fees, and the affordability and viability of certain extracurricular programs.

“I hear that students are concerned, I hear that staff members are concerned,” said Lutz. “At this point in time, it’s too early to be able to predict anything or to say anything that will ameliorate some of these concerns and anxieties, which is really sad. I wish I could do that. But we still have work to do to determine what we need to do to balance and stabilize our budget.”

Superintendent Lutz says the process to determine what cuts and changes the district will make to balance the budget will begin in September and last four to five months.