A recent survey will help guide decisionmaking regarding a projected budget deficit within Robbinsdale Area Schools. The district’s 2024-25 budget survey was taken by 976 family and community members, 561 staff and 453 students, and focuses on topics like class sizes, school safety and more.
Additionally, parents from the Hispanic and Somali affinity groups were asked questions at meetings.
Respondents who had a child in the district were 76% white, 10% Black/African American/African, 6% multi-racial, 4% Latinx/Hispanic, 4% Asian, and 1% American Indian/Alaskan Native.
Students who completed the survey were 51% white, 15% Black/African American/African, 14% multi-racial, 11% Latinx/Hispanic, 5% Asian, 2% American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 1% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
Demographic information for staff was not available.
What are the curriculum priorities?
Respondents were asked, “Which of the following curriculum-related areas are the most important for the district to prioritize when determining how to use district funds for the 2024-25 school year? Select up to three.”
The majority of students (67%) listed “Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math” as the top priority.
The next top-listed priority (58%) was “College and Career Readiness, followed by “Career and Technical Education” (50%).
Families and community gave different priorities.
The first priority (70%) was “Literacy/Reading Achievement,” followed by “Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math” (60%) and “Math Achievement” (45%).
Staff members’ responses were similar to families.
“Literacy/Reading Achievement” was staff’s first priority (70%) followed by “Math Achievement” (45%) and “Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math” (41%)
What should the district prioritize?
Respondents were asked, “Which of the following support areas are the most important for the district to prioritize when determining how to use district funds for the 2024-25 school year? Select up to three.”
Students listed “School safety” (59%), “Mental health support for students” (58%) and “Mental health support for staff” (41%).
Families and community members asked for “Additional staff for classroom support” (76%), “School safety” (66%) and “Mental health support for students” (59%).
District staff answered “Additional staff for classroom support” (80%), “Mental health support for students” (64%) and “School safety” (55%).
Continue funding which items?
Respondents were asked “With federal COVID funds expiring September 2024 and student enrollment declining, the district will need to make budget reductions. From the following list, which are the most important items to continue funding? Select up to three.”
Students selected “Counselors” (53%), “Professional learning and planning time for teachers” (51%) and “Staff to provide mental health support/interventions for students.”
Families and community members picked “Staff to provide academic interventions/supports” (62%), “Staff to provide mental health support/interventions for students” (59%) and “Security support staff” (43%).
Staff chose “Staff to provide academic interventions/supports” (68%), “Staff to provide mental health support/interventions for students” (66%) and “Counselors” (54%).
Parents from the Hispanic Affinity Group and Somali Affinity Group asked that the district prioritize language services.
What should be cut?
The district community acknowledged areas that could be cut. Many asked to minimize spending on administrators.
One survey respondent requested “less money spent at the district office on staff and more money spent on staff in the buildings.”
Another area to cut was professional development.
“Stop paying for professional development for the school board. ... No more out-of-state travel for board members to attend trainings out of state. Board needs to set an example,” read one response.
Approximately 18% of families and community members, 13% of staff and 40% of students said “Professional learning for teachers” was a priority.
Parents from the Somali Affinity Group asked “that programs such as music, field trips, and programs that don’t involve credits should be examined,” the summary said.
Parents from the Hispanic Affinity Group suggested the district take a “look at which students need transportation, look for efficiencies in routing, examine the transportation app and ... possibly bring those services back in-district. The group also suggested that charging groups for use of district facilities could provide additional income,” the summary said.
Mental and physical wellbeing
There were open-ended questions about how best to support teachers. According to the summary, a lot of people asked for smaller class sizes.
“It is IMPERATIVE that teachers have smaller class sizes in order to meet the needs of all students,” one respondent wrote.
“Allow teachers to teach and have separate staff to deal with behavioral issues and discipline,” wrote another.
“Lower class sizes so our teachers can know each of the students on a personal and academic level,” read one response.
“Staffing! We need staff to support student learning! Teachers AND support staff,” someone wrote.
The Hispanic Affinity Group also “expressed a preference to use district funding to keep class sizes low,” per an executive summary.
Others asked to maintain or increase counselors in the buildings. People wrote about other mental health resources.
One person requested “space where students can go to get extra help or just be able to sit, focus, and complete their work without getting disrupted by others.”
Safety and security questions garnered a huge variety of responses.
Some requested more school resource officers, while others were against police officers in schools.
Should there be more in-school drills? Some said yes, while “others felt these drills were taking a toll on students’ mental health,” according to the summary.
Other safety suggestions included metal detectors, camera equipment, “clear consequences for disruptive and violent behavior” and “de-escalation training for all staff and job-specific training for security staff.”
“We need to follow through when students misbehave and threaten/scare other students” a respondent wrote.
“Students also requested that reports of dangerous behavior be taken more seriously and that we should provide students with safety training,” the summary added.
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