Stillwater School District Talks with Local Municipalities to Find Ways to Reduce Expenses

Leaders from communities across the St. Croix Valley are working together to find innovative ways to continue to reduce expenses for taxpayers.

The school board recently hosted a meeting with officials from Bayport, Hugo, Lakeland, ,  and , as well as Sen. Ted Lillie, to discuss ways the communities could work together to reduce expenses and become more efficient and innovative in their operations.

According to a news release from the : 

“We all have similar goals to ensure we are meeting the needs of residents and taxpayers,” said George Dierberger, school board chair, “and we share many of the same issues: declining revenue from the state, increased costs due to healthcare benefits and other line items.” 

The leaders discussed ways they could partner together to share resources, streamline processes and coordinate common projects in a more effective way.

Some of the topics discussed included: information technology; wellness programs; training opportunities; economic development; services such as snow plowing, grounds and facilities; healthcare; library systems; marketing; and employee contracts. 

Sub groups were formed to further study many of those ideas. The group plans to meet again later this spring. 

“We are committed to doing our part to reduce our reliance on local funding and find ways to be more innovative and efficient in our operations,” Superintendent Corey Lunn said. “I’m looking forward to working with other community leaders to bring change to the entire St. Croix Valley.”