Finalized Budgets Up for Approval at School Board Meeting

The Edina Public School District's six-month journey to a 2011-12 budget is set to come to a close tonight, June 20.

Board of Education members will be asked to approve six separate budgets during their regular meeting. In addition to the $79.6 million general fund budget—which incorporates elements of the district's —the board will be considering a food service, transportation, building, debt service and internal service fund budgets.

The school board only last month approved a finalized BRRRG plan, outlining more than $2.3 million in cuts for the upcoming school year. The board members voted 5-1 in favor of those cuts at the May meeting, with Bert Ledder casting the lone dissenting vote.

The board moved to begin a K-5 Spanish education program through Edina Community Education Services beginning this fall. The new program would both expand the amount of time spent on foreign language in a given week, plus would allow for more diversity among languages offered.

In addition to the elimination of elementary Spanish, the BRRRG plan included increases in class sizes at the middle and high school, increased fees and a reduction in both staff and training opportunities.

The Board of Education meets at 7 p.m. tonight in Room 349 of the .