As President Donald Trump dismantled the Department of Education, Edina Public Schools will see the 2% of its budget funded by the department removed. This has forced EPS to reduce its budget to not run out of money. This decrease in budget will directly affect both students and staff, which is why it is important to understand how and why this is happening.
EPS has five major funds that distribute the district’s governmental money. The general fund is used to support teachers and other contributors to the physical school buildings. The food service fund is designed to support the needs of the kitchen; that includes staff, equipment, and free food for all students and staff. The community service fund is used to support outside of school enrichment, such as Kids Club and activities for youth and adults. The building and construction fund is used for projects and property taxes. The final fund is the debt service fund, which is used to support interest payments on loans.
At Edina High School, financing is overseen by the Budget Community Engagement Task Force. It analyzes the school’s budgeting and compares it to other schools that are geographically and academically similar to Edina.
When it comes to the school receiving money, each individual student is paid for with a set amount of money. “Higher enrollment at Edina schools is actually better from a funding perspective because then we get more money per student that’s enrolled,” Budget Community Engagement Task Force member Sue Becker said. During the 2018–19 school year, enrollment was at 8,412, while during the 2024–25 school year, enrollment is at 8,630.
Money is not able to be transported from one fund to another, so EPS is stuck with the budget it was given for a specific fund, limiting their ability to make changes or improvements to the tasks and actions detailed in the budget. “School funding is so difficult because you get certain dollars that can only be used for that specific thing,” Becker said. “So those dollars that you get from the state, that you get for, let’s say, the media specialist—if you’ve got extra in the media specialist bucket, you can’t take from that bucket and put it in the nursing bucket.”
While introducing new departments and programs can be a good thing, it also has negative effects. “Understand where the dollars are coming from and where they’re going, and understand that they’re coming from somewhere. They’re not falling from the sky. It’s never free money,” Becker said. “Some other program had to be cut for this program to be available.”
Becker encourages students to make their voices heard and to speak out in the community. According to Becker, not all students are alike; some students may find that certain classes and departments are more worth speaking up for. “I think it’s just really important for the students that are there day to day to speak up and let all the adults know what’s important.”
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on May 8, 2025
