By Rich Larson, News Director
Northfield School District Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann presented the proposed budget for the 2021-2022 school year to the Northfield School
Board on Monday night. And while the district does find itself in decent financial condition, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll.
The proposed budget is $57 million, which is $1.1 million less than the budget for the current year. The proposed expenditures will be at $59.8 million, and while that is down slightly from the current year, it creates a deficit of $2.8 million dollars.
Dr. Hillmann said there are several factors that allow the district to run a deficit. The first is the money that they keep in reserve. Every year, the district tries to keep 16% of the budget in a reserve fund, and for many years they have been successful in doing so. The reserves alone will cover the gap in spending but will leave only 14% in reserve next year.
Additionally, there is an unknown amount of money coming to the district through the American Rescue Plan. Hillmann said the amount will most likely be $2.5 million, but because that is not a definite number, the amount was completely left out of the proposed budget.
Complicating things, he said, it is unclear how much the state will be sending to the district. Like most school districts, Northfield receives 70% of its education revenue from the State of Minnesota. With the legislature currently in session, the district simply does not know how much of an increase there will be, if any, in the basic formula for school funding at the state level. The negotiations are running between 0-2%. With some sort of increase likely, the district budget is forecasting a one-half-of-one-percent increase.
Dr. Hillmann said some members of the legislature are pointing to federal funds received from the Covid-19 relief packages as a reason to not increase school funding this year. That, he said, would not be how the funds were intended to be used.
“I do think there is some talk at the legislature about the infusion of federal funds, and how that might be helpful to schools, so the state doesn’t have to do as much as they normally do. I would argue that the federal funds are about stability and recovery in unprecedented economic times, and the increase to the basic formula is about continuing to try to have positive future trajectory for Minnesota schools.”
Hillmann also said that the district is projecting a declining enrollment after the 21-22 school year, and that will necessitate what he called “budget prioritization” in future years.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Dr. Matt Hillmann can be heard here
Smith works to keep drug prices down
Last week, President Biden signed the Ensuring Innovation Act into law. The legislation was co-sponsored by Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy and Democratic Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota. Senator Smith said the new law will stop pharmaceutical manufacturers from claiming new innovations when they make insignificant modifications to their products. Those claims allow them to extend the lives of their patents and stop generic equivalent drugs from entering the market, keeping prices high.
The senator said that right now, pharmaceutical companies engage in “evergreening,” which allows them to extend their patents when they make minor changes to a drug, such as adding salt or switching the drug from pill form to a gel-cap. The Food and Drug Administration tried to end the practice by only granting these patent extensions to drugs that truly have a new chemical entity, but a district court decision invalidated the agency’s ability to block this practice. The Ensuring Innovation Act, Smith said, will close a legal loophole, and allow the FDA to shut that practice down.
Smith said the point of the law is to bring down the cost of prescription drugs. She said she is grateful for the work done by major pharmaceutical companies, but they do not give them the right to gouge the consumer.
“Don’t get me wrong. I mean, it is because of drug companies that we have a vaccine that is able to protect us from Covid-19. But when their power is so big that they are actually driving drug prices up in this country at a level that we don’t see any place else in the world, we have to stand up and we have to say that we are not going to put up with that.”
Senator Smith said the FDA will now be able to write new rules so that everyone knows what the process is, and Americans should start feeling the impact of the new law this summer.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with United States Senator Tina Smith can be heard here
Safety checks for a great cause
And this Saturday car owners will be able to bring their vehicles to Nate’s Community Garage in Cannon Falls for a safety check and support a good
cause at the same time.
Nate Icaza, the owner of Nate’s Garage, said the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Department will conduct their See Clearly and Drive Safe procedure at the garage. Technicians will check a car’s battery, windshield wipers, and light bulbs. They will also top off the car’s windshield wiper fluid. A car seat technician will also be on hand to help explain the proper usage and installation of a child’s car seat.
There is a $10 suggested donation for the service. That money will go to support Nate’s Community Garage, which is a non-profit facility that helps veterans and people with low income keep their cars running and on the road by replacing things like tires, brakes, wheel bearings and offering other safety services for little to no cost.
Icaza said the Napa Auto Parts of Cannon Falls is a co-sponsor of the program. Nate’s Community Garage is located at 1717 North Highway 20 in Cannon Falls. The event will run from 9am until 2pm. For more information visit natescommunitygarage.org or find their Facebook page under Nate’s Garage.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Nate Icaza can be heard here
