ROBBINSDALE, Minn. — The Robbinsdale School District hosted a community town hall Wednesday to address the recent $20 million budget deficit it's facing.
Officials say at the core of that shortfall is a major math mistake.
Chief Financial Officer Kristen Hoheisel says the error happened in the "implementation of the budget process." She says the $20 million, which comes from compensatory funding, was counted twice, leading the district to over-state its available resources.
At the town hall, Hoheisel and Superintendent Dr. Teri Staloch refused to say exactly how the mistake happened and who might be to blame.
"It’s not a fair approach to make assumptions," said Hoheisel to the crowd. She went on to say the mistake was found quickly and procedures are in place to make sure it doesn't happen again.
"It's hard to have specificity," said Hoheisel to KARE 11's Jennifer Hoff when asked about direct examples. "It's just a checks and balance system throughout the district. It's not housed in any particular area."
Both Hoheisel and Staloch say that the error happened before they were employed in the district.
"I do want to know how it happened and I'm also interested to know when they found out this disparity," said resident Tim Polson.
The error will mean more cuts and changes after the district just closed a nearly $17 million deficit.
"We can complain, we can say, 'Oh no.' We can wallow in the mud or we can look at this problem as an opportunity to grow and dig into the potential of this school district," said Dr. Staloch. "That's how I’m going to lead."
All of this comes as an investigation this fall found the school board members are so dysfunctional that they're not fulfilling their duties. The report done by a third party detailed the complaints some filed against one another and how their actions are disrupting the district.
Still, the board is bound to revise the current budget by next spring given the recent mistake.
The board is also expected to take action on any reductions as early as March, including staffing, academic programs and potentially closing buildings.
The debt is also so deep, that the district is now required to submit a corrective financial plan to the Minnesota Department of Education and the state will monitor that moving forward.