MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) has a new budget for next year.
It includes $27.1 million in cuts and adjustments.
According to the finance department at Minneapolis Public Schools, 87% of their budget is spent on staff.
So, when it comes to cutting $27.1 million, a lot of that will come from cutting jobs.
The board’s decision was for each department to reduce their budget by 5% with some minor exceptions.
During the school board meeting Tuesday night several parents, teachers and staff voiced their concerns about these cuts.
Many were worried about the impact these cuts will have on the arts and music programs.
“We have spent 10 years building a strong dance program all for the administration to take some of it away,” one student said during the meeting.
Some parents and teachers called on the district to dip into reserves to cushion the blow.
Board member Ira Jourdain presented the board with an amendment to the budget that suggested taking $10 million from the district’s reserves to help cushion the blow.
That amendment was turned down.
Other board members voiced their concerns that dipping into the reserves could lower the district’s bond rating, which could make it more expensive for the district to borrow money in the long run.
“If you go from a 'AAA' to an 'AA' rating these investors are going to look at that a different way,” MPS board finance chair Kimberly Caprini says.
Caprini says it's hard to say how many teachers and staff will be affected, because each individual school gets to manage how these cuts will be made.
She shares the concerns that many parents and students have that music and the arts will likely take a big hit.
"Some of the classes that are most popular, in my opinion, because I really love the arts, are the ones that get cut first, because we can't cut our core classes,” Caprini says.
To learn more visit:
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities in our YouTube playlist: