The Hastings School District is looking a decade ahead as it weighs millions of dollars in facility upgrades, curriculum replacements and technology investments — all while acknowledging the uncertainty of enrollment trends, legislative mandates and rising costs.
At its Wednesday, Feb. 25 meeting, Director of Finance & Operations Jennifer Seubert and department heads presented a comprehensive long-term financial plan outlining projected needs from 2026 through 2036. The plan, which will feed into the district’s multi-year budget model, reflects what administrators described as a careful balancing act between aging infrastructure, evolving academic standards and limited financial resources.
Seubert told board members the long-range document compiles requests from across the district - facilities, teaching and learning, athletics, technology and other operational areas - and aligns them with available funding sources.
“This document reflects the collective needs of our district over multiple years,” Seubert said. “Each director has contributed by identifying needs within their area, and then those needs have been collectively reviewed, prioritized and aligned with available funding sources.”
The plan will be incorporated into the district’s five-year budget projection model, which will be presented at an upcoming work session. That model will show projected fund balances and the financial impact of the priorities identified in the long-term plan.
Seubert emphasized that many projects rely on restricted funding sources, including Long-Term Facilities Maintenance (LTFM), capital funds, voter-approved technology levies and board-approved levies. Other initiatives depend on state and federal categorical funding streams.
Facilities needs account for some of the largest projected expenditures over the next 10 years. According to the district’s 2026-2036 financial plan, significant projects include:
•Todd Field turf replacement in 2028-29, estimated at $1.3 million (LTFM).
•Middle school roof replacement in 2028-29, estimated at $3.45 million (LTFM, capital and possible board authority).
•High school HVAC work in 2029-30, estimated at $2.71 million.
•High school boiler system and controls replacement in 2030-31, estimated at $1.73 million.
•Major high school HVAC and mechanical project in 2034-35+, estimated at $10 million.
Facilities Director Scott Stockdale told the board many equipment purchases reflect aging assets that are increasingly expensive to maintain. Planned replacements include work trucks, plow trucks, mowers, tractors and a skid loader.
“These are just a fleet of mowers that are getting to that age where they need to be replaced,” Stockdale said, noting some equipment is incurring costly repairs or becoming difficult to service due to parts availability.
One smaller but innovative proposal is a $50,000 paint robot that would automate athletic field striping and parking lot painting, reducing labor costs.
Stockdale also noted that large projects such as the middle school roof could potentially be broken into phases or funded through board-approved levies.
On the academic side, Teaching and Learning Director Andrew Hodges outlined significant curriculum and staffing needs driven by expiring grants and new state standards.
One immediate concern is the expiration of a state grant funding two Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) coordinator positions. The district is proposing to absorb the approximately $278,000 annual cost beginning in 2026-27 to maintain the positions.
“We find those positions vital to our success over the last few years,” Hodges said.
Additional proposed recurring expenses include:
•Elementary and secondary intervention staff positions.
•Instructional coaches beginning in 2027-28.
•A pathways coordinator at the high school, partially offset by a United Way grant.
Curriculum replacement cycles represent some of the largest academic expenditures. Planned investments include:
•Secondary social studies curriculum (2026-27).
•Secondary literacy curriculum ($600,000) in 2027-28.
•Grades 6-12 math curriculum ($350,000) in 2027-28.
•K-5 math curriculum ($600,000) in 2028-29.
•Health curriculum (2029-30).
•Grades 6-12 science curriculum (2030-31).
Hodges said new math standards taking effect in 2027-28 will require substantial instructional shifts at all grade levels.
“There are a lot of shifts coming in math in the next couple of years,” he said, adding that current capital allocations will not fully cover the cost of new materials.
The district is also transitioning to a new PowerSchool professional development platform, replacing PD Express, with costs spread across multiple years.
While comparatively smaller in scale, athletics needs are also included in the long-term document.
In 2026-27, the district plans to add girls wrestling following its sanctioning by the Minnesota State High School League, at an estimated cost of $48,000 for coaches and supplies.
Other projected expenses include updated lacrosse safety netting at Todd Field and replacement of high school scoreboards.
Technology is one area with a dedicated voter-approved funding stream, though costs remain significant.
Technology Director Tim Buchin outlined recurring device replacement cycles, including annual Chromebook purchases for incoming fifth- and ninth-grade students, periodic staff device updates and seven-year network infrastructure replacement cycles.
One major 2026-27 project is a $600,000 middle school cabling and infrastructure upgrade to modernize ethernet systems and address connectivity gaps. Funding would come from a combination of E-Rate reimbursements, the technology levy and committed technology funds.
Buchin noted that projecting technology needs a decade into the future presents challenges.
“Looking 10 years out for technology, it’s kind of hard to imagine what technology will even look like,” he said. “So I tried to keep it as grounded in reality as I could.”
Superintendent Dr. Kristine Wehrkamp Herman emphasized that even the most detailed long-range plan must account for variables outside district control.
The plan specifically identifies uncontrollable costs such as:
•Substitute staffing
•Special education expenditures
•Paid family leave requirements
•Insurance increases
•Unemployment costs
•Enrollment fluctuations
•Post secondary tuition payments
•Utilities and fuel costs
•New unfunded legislative mandates
Revenue uncertainties include interest rates, participation fees, donations and state and federal aid.
“We do our very best to try to account for those,” Herman said. “But there are times where you can do your best-laid plans, and all of a sudden there’s a huge spike in utilities in the middle of the year, and you didn’t know it.”
She said the long-term planning document helps leadership prioritize needs and adjust when unexpected expenses arise.
“We know we have very limited resources, and we can’t do everything we want to do all at one time,” Herman said. “This conversation helps guide that decision-making.”
Seubert said the board will soon review the assumptions behind the district’s five-year budget projections, including enrollment forecasts, inflationary factors and staffing models. Those projections will incorporate the priorities identified in the long-term financial plan and show the resulting impact on fund balances.
As the district looks toward 2036, administrators made clear that flexibility will remain essential. While the plan outlines more than $20 million in potential facility upgrades and millions more in curriculum and technology investments, each year’s budget will ultimately determine what moves forward and what must wait.