
Rochester School Board to Vote on Outline of Spending Cuts to Enact if Referendum Fails
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Rochester Public School (RPS) Board is set to vote on a preliminary spending reduction plan that would be enacted if the community rejects this fall’s referendum.
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The vote is scheduled to happen Tuesday evening. The plan’s outline is similar to the planned cuts that were thwarted late last year by a $10 million donation from Mayo Clinic.
In May the RPS Board approved seeking voter approval for a $19.4 million dollar property tax increase to support local school operations starting in the 2025-2026 school year and remaining in effect for 10 years.
RPS Superintendent Kent Pekel has previously said the additional dollars would increase the school district's per-pupil funding by $1133 per year while adding around $30 per month to the average property tax bill on homes valued at about $350,000 to $400,000.

School Closures and Dozens of Position Cuts Could Happen at Rochester Public Schools if Referendum Fails
The preliminary plan calls for the closure of three elementary schools but does not name the three schools that would be closed.
It does say the closure decisions will be based on the school’s excess enrollment, its location relative to where its students live, the age and condition of the school, the impact of the school’s closure on students who attend other schools and the school’s support services that would need to be offered elsewhere.
The preliminary referendum failure budget cut plan would also include the reduction of 50 full-time teaching positions and the loss of 20 non-teaching full-time jobs.
Spending reduction would also be planned for four areas the referendum would fund if it passes.
Those areas are positions to support student success, programs to challenge advanced students, programs to enhance student wellbeing and courses to prepare students for careers in technical and vocational fields.
In all the proposed cuts total $16.7 million, according to the meeting agenda item. District officials call the reduction a conservative number and say the final amount of spending cut from the budget would likely be higher if the referendum fails.
Early voting for November’s election is underway. Election Day 2024 is Nov. 5.
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