News Stories

Brooklyn Center Community Schools (BCCS) continues to be focused on strategic financial management while addressing the evolving needs of its students and community. Throughout each school year, district leadership reviews their budgets, makes adjustments as needed and anticipates what is needed for the following year. By state mandate, the district partners with an outside financial firm to conduct an audit each fiscal year. 

“We continue to review existing programs and course-correct as necessary to ensure we’re on the right track for the year and for the years ahead,” BCCS Director of Finance Kathleen Heider said. “Each year’s budget is finalized by our administrative team and shared with our school board and our community.”

The pandemic brought a unique opportunity for BCCS to use funds in strategic ways to provide the best possible and safest educational environment for their students and staff members. With the dedication of the technology and financial teams, BCCS was able to provide mobile learning devices for each student to continue their learning at school or at home.

This was made possible by the federal COVID-19 relief funds including Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP). With the expiration of these funds in 2022, the district faced significant budget cuts, including a $4.5 million reduction at the end of the 2022-2023 school year. These cuts affected staffing and other support services.

“We focused our efforts into an opportunity and turned our district into a 1:1 to equip our students and staff to use what they needed from home,” Former Director of Finance and current Grants and Projects Manager Sara Bratsch said. “With the funds almost gone, we now have to keep that level of technology that we’ve established as Chromebooks break down and other technologies need updating.”

Honoring the voices of our constituents, the district has worked hard over the past year to find alternative solutions in support of the needs of our students and community after the failed operating levy from 2023. Different from an operating levy, a capital projects levy can only be used for specific projects, such as upgrades to facilities, technology and security projects. By using these funds for learning technology, infrastructure and security, the district can strategically reinvest its resources to better: 

• empower students with relevant skills for the future,
• support each student’s unique learning journey, and 
• enhance the learning environment into a safer, more connected school community.

“These students are our next generation of leaders,” Heider said. “We need to prepare them with the tools necessary for learning and succeeding in life after high school.”

With the levy providing funds for technology-related expenses, it will also allow the district to reallocate resources currently supporting learning technology, infrastructure and security measures to further support teaching and learning across the district.

To learn more about Capital Projects Levy for Technology, visit the Referendum 2024 web page as well as the District Financial Information page and the Frequently Asked Questions page.