Duluth Public Schools approves $4.2 million in budget cuts

Duluth Public Schools is trimming another $4.2 million, and the latest round of cuts is reaching classrooms, offices and the households that depend on them. District leaders said 48 teachers and support staff were affected as Duluth entered a third consecutive year of multimillion-dollar reductions, a sign the financial strain in St. Louis County schools has moved beyond one-time belt tightening.

The district said the final plan produced $4,223,067 in estimated general-fund savings for the 2026-2027 school year. Most of the burden fell on central administration, which absorbed about $1.249 million in cuts, or 15.61% of the total reduction. Middle and high schools saw an estimated 5.8% reduction, while elementary schools saw a 4.1% reduction, underscoring the district’s effort to push losses away from classrooms even as school sites still took hits.

District officials said the cuts were driven in part by a 15% jump in insurance premiums and by state and federal funding formulas that have not kept pace with inflation. Duluth Public Schools manages an overall budget of about $155 million, so the cuts are not symbolic. They are decisions about staffing, scheduling, transportation, support services and how much more families can absorb before the daily school experience changes again.

At the same time, the district is testing whether voters might back an operational levy on the November ballot. Minnesota operating levies require voter approval and can be used for operational expenses above state funding. Duluth Public Schools’ survey asks residents to consider property-tax impact options of $0, $5, $10 or $15 a month based on a $300,000 home, a direct appeal for public buy-in before the district decides whether to ask voters for more money.

The stakes are not limited to this school year. District leaders warned that if no action is taken, Duluth could face another $5 million to $7 million in cuts in 2027-2028 and another $5 million to $7 million in 2028-2029 if a referendum fails. That would turn today’s reductions into a deeper structural decline, with fewer choices for students and more pressure on staff who are already stretched thin.

This is not the district’s first round of austerity. In March 2025, Duluth said it had reduced its budget by $7.6 million over two years. In 2023, voters approved one referendum question that refinanced existing debt and freed up $2.6 million a year for academic and mental-health positions, while rejecting a separate technology-funding question. The pattern now is clear: Duluth schools have cut deeply, and the next budget fight will decide whether those cuts are a temporary fix or the new normal.