Duluth Schools Facing $4 Million Budget Shortfall
District Still Looking at Selling Two Vacant Properties
DULUTH, Minn.-The Duluth School District is facing a $4 million budget shortfall and the clock is ticking on when they have to get their final budget in.
June 30th is the deadline for the district, which has been facing some tough financial times in recent years. Their budget sits at $100 million right now and they are hoping to get some extra funds from the state, to help them along the way.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is proposing investing $140 million more into schools, which could mean an additional $1.4 million for students in Duluth.
“Additional state funding would be very welcome,” said Doug Hasler, Duluth Public Schools’ chief financial officer.
District leaders say there are no plans to lay off any employees right now, but they could be facing a situation where empty positions are not filled.
The district would not say which positions would not be filled, as they are very early in that process.
Nettleton and Central up for Sale
In other Duluth Schools news, the district is still looking at selling the vacant Central High School and Nettleton Elementary.
The district recently hired a real estate firm to sell both properties.
They cut the price nearly in half for Central from about $14 million to $8 million, while they want $150,000 for Nettleton. They originally wanted $130,000 for that property.
