KM Superintendent: District is not in financial crisis
Kasson-Mantorville Superintendent Beth Giese is no stranger to the struggles school districts face when it comes to funding.
It was just last year when she and others applied to become the next superintendent of schools.
In Giese’s case, she would’ve loved to continue with her then-employer, the Kenyon-Wanamingo school district.
But due to financial issues, the district would have to close one of its school buildings, which moved the position to part-time; previously, it was a role of part-time principal and part-time superintendent.
Giese said despite the district moving forward with a levy question in November — asking voters to approve a $500 per student operating levy — Kasson-Mantorville is not in an immediate financial crisis.
“The discussion around a levy is not about addressing an immediate financial emergency,” Giese said. “It is about determining how we maintain the educational opportunities, programs, staffing and student support services our community expects while navigating the realities of school finance today.”
Homework
Giese said she knew about the financial realities of Kasson-Mantorville when she took on the top job last year.
“As part of the superintendent interview process, candidates were asked to present on how they would run a successful referendum campaign,” she said. “Superintendents research the district they are applying for and I understood the district’s funding situation when I accepted the position. I appreciated that they were so good at being careful with their funds. But, with declining enrollment and all of these unfunded mandates, I knew the next 10 years could be tough.”
But despite being in the minority of school districts without a levy, it is unclear if there had been serious conversations about a proposed levy before now.
“Conversations about school funding and unfunded mandates have been taking place for many years in every district in Minnesota,” Giese said when asked about previous conversations about a potential levy. “We are one of the very few without a levy.”
Declining Enrollment, Revenue
Just like most districts across Minnesota, Giese said the district “continues to experience financial pressures that are affecting school districts across Minnesota.”
It’s a big reason why a levy is being considered now.
“I want to be clear that Kasson-Mantorville is not in a financial crisis,” she said. “We have worked hard to be fiscally responsible and have made adjustments over time to live within our means.”
But Giese said public schools are facing increasing costs driven by inflation, workforce shortages, rising health insurance costs “and a growing number of state and federal requirements that are either partially funded or unfunded.”
“While these initiatives are often important and well-intended, they create additional costs that districts must absorb, like Paid Family Medical Leave and Summer Unemployment,” she said.
Also not uncommon is a decline in students.
During the 2023-24 school year, the district enrolled 2,161 students, Giese said, while the enrollment for 2025-26 is 2,125 students.
“We also continue to see smaller incoming classes, with kindergarten through second grade enrollment in the 130s while graduating classes remain in the 180s,” she said. “In the very near future we will be under 2,000 students for the first time, and these enrollment trends impact revenue over time and require thoughtful long-term planning. We are very fortunate that so many open enroll into Kasson-Mantorville.”
Ongoing Adjustments, Cuts
Giese said like other school districts, adjustments have been made for years.
“The district has been right-sizing operations and making strategic adjustments for many years. This work did not begin with the current levy discussion,” she said.
For example, she pointed to the fact that since the 2012-13 school year, “the district has reduced elementary classroom sections from 41 to 33 as enrollment patterns have changed.”
In 2024-25, the year before she began with the district, a reading special position was reduced, along with a high potential teaching position.
During her first year, a number of reductions and realignments were made, including:
- Restructured the Director of Teaching and Learning position
- Restructured transportation leadership responsibilities
- Evaluated vacant support staff positions before filling them
- Conducted ongoing reviews of subscriptions and contracts to eliminate unnecessary expenditures
- Eliminated the use of an outside contractor for schoolhouse operations
- Reduced spending on food, refreshments and celebrations
- Reduced an English Language Learner instructor position
- Reduced a middle school media paraprofessional position
The reductions aren’t going away, either. Giese listed the following reductions and realignments being made for the 2026-27 school year:
Reduced a.22 FTE high school math position
Reduced a middle school physical education position
Redistributed districtwide special education teacher positions
Eliminated a technology support position
Reduction in social worker summer hours
“These adjustments reflect a district that has consistently made thoughtful and responsible financial decisions,” Giese said. “The larger conversation facing Kasson-Mantorville is the same one facing many Minnesota school districts: how to continue providing high-quality educational opportunities while state funding has not consistently kept pace with rising costs and increasing expectations placed on public schools.”