By Rich Larson, News Director
As the Northfield School District prepares to return to in-person learning next week, the business of running the district itself continues as well. With this year being a budget year at the state legislature, Northfield Schools Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann said that the district is paying very close 
attention to those negotiations and is hoping for a few things to happen.
The first thing the district is looking for is passage of a law allowing school districts across the state to apply the larger student count from 2019 or 2020 to 2021 state funding.
“One of the big things we are looking at across the state is we are hoping that the legislature will pass a law that will allow school districts the better of their student counts from 2019 or 2020. In Northfield, we are down about 67 students compared to what we projected. Multiply that by $6600 and change, which is what we receive per student. So, since this is a unique event, we’re asking the legislature to hold school districts harmless, and allow them to use either the 2019 or the 2020 student count, which drives so many of our financial formulas.”
Another bit of help the District is hoping for, although Dr. Hillmann did signal that it might be unlikely, is a small increase in the per-pupil-based formula.
“Of course, we are always going to look at the per pupil-based formula. So, our organizations are asking the legislature to consider a 2% increase in that formula for each year of the biennium. We know that that’s going to be a really tough hill to climb. In Northfield, about 70% of our revenue comes from the state, and across the state that’s pretty similar in most districts. We’re very lucky to have a very generous community that has supported us in a variety of other ways, but at the end of the day the growth in that per pupil basic formula is really important to us.”
Dr. Hillmann said that he would also like to see enhancement of the Special Education cross subsidy, which has to do with the amount of general fund money the district is mandated to spend on what he called the “morally imperative” Special Education programs, only about 14% of which is refunded back to the district. He is also hoping that the state will not give public school districts a lot of new mandates this year.
Hillmann made the point that making sure public-school districts are fully funded just makes good business sense.
“I think we’re also going to make the argument that public schools in this state over the past year have demonstrated that we are one of the most effective forms of local government, especially when we’re resourced. So, you think about how we quickly turned to providing Tier 1, or essential worker, childcare, making sure that we were able to deliver meals, modifying the way we are able to do business in a very short period of time. And while we certainly have a lot of room to grow, we’ve done a lot of growth in the last 9 months. And I think it goes to show that when the legislature provides the appropriate amount of resources and support, public schools have the ability to deliver on the promise of making sure that we prepare every student for lifelong success.”
Dr. Hillmann said he has a good relationship with both of the area’s State legislators, Representative Todd Lippert and Senator Rich Draheim, and while there is not always agreement in how to approach these matters, he said both have always been willing to listen to the district’s needs.
City Council hears presentations to support state and federal climate initiatives
During a work session last night, the Northfield City Council heard presentations from City Program Coordinator Beth Kallested and Environmental Quality Commissioner Janet Petri about options for the City of Northfield to support climate initiatives at the State and Federal level.
Kallestad made presentations about signing on to support Excel Energy’s 2020-2034 Integrated Resource Plan, which details Excel Energy’s plans to become a more carbon neutral company, including retiring all coal burning power plants by 2030. The second was for a motion of support for upcoming State Building Code legislation that will be introduced during the current session. In both cases, Kallestad said, support would help make progress toward the goals laid out by the City’s Climate Action Plan.
Commissioner Petri made a presentation on a resolution supporting Federal Legislation authorizing a federal, revenue-neutral, market-based fee on carbon in fossil fuels. The legislation would charge a tax on all fossil fuel consumption, and then return funds to the lower 60% of fossil fuel consumers, who would actually receive a windfall from the fee. The next 20% would break even, while the highest 20% would bear most of the cost. Commissioner Petri said many US trading partners around the world, including the European Union and Canada have what she called “robust” taxes on carbon, and in fact, the EU is contemplating charging a tax on imports from countries that do not have an internal carbon tax.
After the presentations, Councilor Nakasian made the point that while it may feel like resolutions supporting federal legislation is an unnecessary exercise, the state and federal governments look for guidance and opinions from local city councils, and resolutions like this are quite important.
All the items discussed are expected to be on council meeting consent agendas in the coming weeks.
NHS Offers family friendly space for kids
And the Northfield Historical Society is back open after the state relaxed the covid-19 shutdown restrictions on Monday. NHS Executive Director Cathy
Osterman said during the shutdown, the museum put together a brand new “hands-on” space for kids called the History Hideout.
“Part of the room is set up like a one room school. So we have desks and slates. We’ve actually got McGuffey Readers. We have a bunch of costumes and accessories for kids to use. We have games. I guess there is an Oregon Trail board game, and that’s one of the games we found. All of the games are history and geography based. We have a bunch of books if you’re interested in reading about Civil Rights, Latino Culture, Native American Culture, or Black History. And then we have a couple of puzzles, which are created from images from our collection.”
The History Hideout can accommodate up to ten people. It is available on Sundays only, by reservation. The cost to reserve the space is $45.00. Reservations must be made by the prior Thursday for staffing purposes.
The Northfield Historical Society is now open Tuesday and Wednesday from Noon to 4pm, 10-4 Thursday-Saturday and by appointment on Sunday and Monday.
