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28 St.Anthony-New Brighton School District#282 Blue Ribbon Finance Committee Charge Statement History There can be various chapters in the life of a school district that imply changes of major significance. It would seem that to-date the St. Anthony-New Brighton School District has three chapters in its history. The beginning of the first chapter was the original creation of the school district in the 1870s. The second chapter would begin in 1957 with the response to the rapid population growth within the school district boundaries, which necessitated moving from a K-6 to a comprehensive K-12 school district and constructing a junior high/senior high building in 1961. The third chapter began in 1988 with the decision to use the open enrollment option as a means to deal with the ongoing decline of the district's resident student population and the subsequent loss of revenue and student academic programs and services. Following the historical highpoint of 2,193 students in the 1970-71 school year,the district bottomed out at 979 students in the 1989-90 school year: Due to the decision to remain as'a K-12 school district and use open enrollment to increase the student population,the school district has continued to operate independently since that time. Student enrollment growth has been steady and is projected to reach 1,670 students in 2004-05,putting the district at maximum student capacity. Up until this point in time,the school district has remained academically and financially strong due in large part to prudent fiscal management including maximization.of student enrollment and operational levy authority. However, a fourth chapter may now be unfolding which may require some defining change. Circumstances impacting the school district have created financial challenges caused in large Part by: ongoing inadequate funding from the State Legislature that has not kept pace with inflation, increased un-funded and under-funded mandates from the state and federal government, e.g.,No Child Left Behind, special education, etc., => an increasing number of educational options for families, and rapidly escalating insurance costs. Blueprint Planning Process Beginning in the fall of 2001, the St. Anthony-New Brighton School District has been engaged in Blueprint for a Bright Future,a three-phase process that the school district is using for planning. This process examined thirteen operational components of the school district through the use of a task force for each component. In the fall of 2002 the school board formed an additional committee called the Citizens Ad Hoc Finance Committee to evaluate.specific levy options including excess levies, a technology levy, health.and safety levies, and levies for facilities improvements. This Committee presented its findings to the school board on July 8, 2003. With respect to short-term budget issues, the Committee recommended several levy options and also recommended that"the school board and administration promptly commence a study and develop a plan for alternative educational delivery strategies to maintain and promote quality educational programs at reduced costs" (report Section F, Recommendation V). August 2004