District pushes state lawmakers to preserve gifted funding after per-student allocation falls

At the April 27 meeting, district Chief Financial Officer Mr. Klingler described a letter being prepared with the gifted coordinator and Mr. Ben Spiel Dinner to send to state legislators highlighting the district’s gifted-program offerings and the effect of state funding changes.

Klingler said the district used the letter to illustrate how state dollars translate into local programming and cited specific per-student figures: "Just in the 2021-22 school year, we were receiving close to $423 per gifted student, and this next year we are set to receive $288 per gifted student." He said the decline in the per-student allocation strains what the district can provide for gifted services.

The board did not vote on the letter at the meeting; Klingler presented it as part of the superintendent’s report and described continuing outreach to state representatives including Melanie Miller and state Senator Mark Romanchuk.