Roseville Area Schools brace for funding cuts

Uncertainty around public education funding looms large at the district

Roseville Area Schools District Center | Photo by Naomi Krueger ©The Roseville Reader

As uncertainty and threats to federal funding for public schools stack up, Roseville Area Schools district administration and school board continue to reaffirm their commitment to an inclusive and supportive educational environment.

In a statement emailed to district families on April 8, Superintendent Dr. Jenny Loeck addressed the question many community members have been asking: How are federal funding cuts affecting Roseville Area Schools?

“While the full impact of these developments remains unclear, we know enough to understand that changes to federal funding will have significant implications for school districts across the country, including ours,” Loeck wrote.

As of the publishing of this article, no delays or cuts to federal funding have been implemented yet, but district administration is paying close attention to potential changes.

Roseville Area Schools was allocated $9 million in federal funding for this school year. This funding supports programs such as Special Education services, Nutrition Services (including the district’s farm-to-school partnerships), and Community Education (including programs for seniors, such as Meals on Wheels.)

The biggest portion—$4.5 million—is from the USDA to fund the school nutrition program. This amount is determined by the number of students who qualify for Medicaid or SNAP benefits, two programs which are also at risk of cuts and at the forefront of US Congressional budget talks this week.

Title I funding—to support the achievement of low-income students—makes up $1.5 million of the current school-year budget.

Federal Title I funding to public schools was recently threatened in a letter from the United States Department of Education on April 3, demanding state education departments certify that all K-12 schools are complying with a previous Dear Colleague letter banning diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.

In response, the Minnesota Department of Education sent a letter to the US Department of Education reaffirming Minnesota’s commitment to civil rights laws and to making a high quality education accessible to all children.

“We will not allow uncertainty or threats to penalize the most vulnerable children in Minnesota,” Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Willie Jett wrote in a statement on April 7.

In the letter to the US Department of Education, Jett wrote:

“Minnesota has a long-standing commitment to high-quality education and strong state-level policies that protect every child’s right to learn in a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment.”

District reaffirms equity commitment

This letter from the US Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Education’s response came up in the April 8 school board meeting.

“I was heartened by the state’s response. I feel like the state has our back in this,” school board director Frank Shaw said at the meeting.

In her April 8 email to district families, Loeck expressed that Roseville Area Schools shares this commitment. This is not the first time in 2025 Loeck has sent a message to district families reaffirming the district’s commitment to equity and inclusion. On Jan. 22, Loeck’s Superintendent’s column in the Raider Reader focused on the district’s Equity Vision.

“This commitment goes beyond policies and practices; it’s about ensuring that every member of our community feels seen, heard, and valued. Your experiences and identities matter deeply to us,” Loeck wrote.

Minnesota education budget cuts

The district is also anticipating funding cuts at the state level, as the Minnesota Legislature tries to balance a budget facing a deficit, in addition to threats to federal education funding.

According to reporting from MinnPost, about 15 percent of all Minnesota K-12 funding comes from the federal government. Over half of the state’s school meals program is federally funded. Looking ahead at the next state budget, Governor Walz wants to trim $240 million from the education budget. The MN Senate has proposed no K-12 funding cuts for the next two years, but a $687 million cut in 2028 and 2029. The MN House is proposing a $40 million increase in educational spending for the next two years, and no cuts the following two.

On March 24, several school board members and district administrators participated in the Association of Metropolitan School Districts Day at the Capitol to lobby state legislators for school funding and legislative priorities. They met with legislators representing the legislative districts that overlap with the school district’s boundaries.

At the April 8 school board meeting, school board director Mike Boguszewski said that all school districts were pressing legislators for about a three precent increase in state funding.

“Sadly, it’s safe to say we probably won’t get much, if anything . . . Roseville, like other schools, will not be getting what we want or even what we need. That’s not even counting what [cuts] might come from the federal level. It’s not a positive outlook for the budget this year,” Boguszewski said at the meeting. “They love us. They all care. They just probably don’t have the ability to do much for us the next couple of years.”

Learn more:

States ordered by U.S. Education Department to certify school DEI ban or lose funds (Minnesota Reformer, April 3, 2025)

Minnesota joins other states in push back on threats to cut school funding over DEI (MPR News, April 9, 2025)

How Minnesota spending on education might change under new state budget, federal threats (MinnPost, April 4, 2025)

In case you missed it: