Facing Deep Deficit, Robbinsdale Area School Board Considers Cutting IB Programs
The Robbinsdale Area School District is facing a more than $20 million budget shortfall for the 2025-26 school year — and that means the district’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program may be on the chopping block.
District officials discussed the prospect this Monday during a work session.
The substantial budget deficit is partly due to an accounting error that district officials discovered in November.
The district administrative staff recommended $912,000 worth of programming cuts to the school board this week. That includes the elimination of K-12 IB programs across the district.
“I’m disappointed it’s only $912,000 because we have a long way to go and this is barely chipping at it,” said Board Member Aviva Hillenbrand. “And to impact so many people barely chipping at, it makes me — it’s just, it’s disappointing.”
The Robbinsdale Area School District is facing a more than $20 million budget shortfall for the 2025-26 school year. The district’s International Baccalaureate program may be on the chopping block.
IB Program Considered for Cuts
Currently, IB programs are available at three district schools: Lakeview Elementary, Robbinsdale Middle School and Cooper High School.
Matt Pletcher, director of secondary curriculum and multilingual programs, said that about 2,500 students are part of the district’s IB programming.
Previously, Superintendent Teri Staloch told the board that cuts need to move at an “incredible” speed ahead of staffing decisions in March.
It’s a sentiment echoed by Pletcher.
“There are some challenges with it, right? The timing is quick,” Pletcher said. “Students are registering right now for courses for the fall. And so the turnaround time has to be really fast. There’s a definite urgency.”
If the IB program is cut, the district would aim to offer more Advanced Placement classes at Cooper. Students taking those classes are eligible for college credit.
District officials say the AP classes are more cost effective and more popular than IB classes.
However, the recommendation to eliminate the IB program didn’t come lightly from district staff.
“I know what IB means in terms of equity,” Staloch said. “I recognize this recommendation for IB is losing significantly for our students.”
It’s not clear if there’s support from the board to make the cuts.
“I think that for the amount of money — it’s a lot of pain for this much money that we’re saving,” said Board Member Helen Bassett.
Meanwhile, there are eight IB diploma candidates in the district. They would be allowed to complete the program even if cuts are approved.
Other Potential Cuts
Another recommended cut would eliminate the fourth-grade orchestra program. However, fifth-grade band and orchestra courses would remain intact.
The district also plans to change its service model for the Talent Development program as part of its cost-saving efforts.
Administrators plan to come back to the board with additional details at a future meeting.
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