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There are school districts that manage money. And then there are school districts that lead with it.
Hermantown Community Schools has spent the past budget cycle showing the rest of Minnesota what fiscal leadership actually looks like — not in theory, not in consultant slide decks, but in real decisions made under real pressure.
As costs climbed and outside funding flattened, Hermantown didn’t panic. It planned. It didn’t posture. It measured. And before asking taxpayers to absorb more, it turned inward and did the hard, unglamorous work that separates serious governance from convenient governance.
That started with discipline. Substantial internal reductions were made early — real belt-tightening that forced the district to confront staffing levels, program spending, replacement cycles, and operational assumptions. These weren’t symbolic trims designed to soften a levy increase. They were foundational corrections designed to restore balance and protect long-term stability.
Only after that work was done did the board approve a modest levy increase tied to the most recently adopted budget. And even then, the message was unmistakable: this district would carry its share of the load first.
That approach matters. It builds trust. It signals respect. And it puts Hermantown in a financial position many districts envy but few achieve — stable, solvent, and firmly in control of its own future.
As the district moves toward finalizing its 2026–27 budget, the tone is telling. There’s no emergency. No referendum drama. No late-stage scrambling. The conversation is measured and methodical because the groundwork has already been laid. The hard choices weren’t deferred. They were made.
That kind of stability doesn’t happen without leadership.
Superintendent Wayne Whitwam has brought exactly what moments like this demand: a sharp pencil, a steady hand, and a refusal to pretend the math doesn’t matter. He has treated budgeting not as a political exercise, but as a moral one — understanding that every dollar spent is a dollar entrusted by families who expect it to be handled with care.
Whitwam’s leadership has been matched by a school board willing to stand behind him. Holding the line on property taxes while costs rise takes courage. So does approving reductions when they’re necessary rather than waiting until they’re unavoidable. This board chose stewardship over showmanship and accountability over applause.
"The key has been to make sure ongoing expenses do not exceed revenues," said Whitwam. "My board was supportive last year when we could have paid ongoing expenses with fund balance, but that is short-sighted and how you can get yourself in trouble quickly. We backfill and then close open enrollment so we are running efficiently, we refinanced the high school bond to a lower interest rate and we earn interest on our fund balance – and that is invested back into education."
Other districts should be paying close attention.
Hermantown didn’t rely on a referendum to solve operational challenges. It didn’t borrow its way out of discipline. It didn’t ask voters to rescue it from decisions it wasn’t willing to make itself. It did what well-run institutions do: it adjusted, recalibrated, and moved forward with clarity.
The result is a district that isn’t just surviving — it’s setting a standard.
In an era when public trust in institutions is fragile, Hermantown Community Schools has earned its credibility the old-fashioned way: by respecting taxpayers, confronting reality, and governing with integrity.
This is fiscal excellence in practice. And yes, other school districts could — and should — learn from it.
Howie, 71, is a veteran Hermantown print journalist and publisher of HowieHanson.com, which he has operated for 21 years. He is the region’s first and only full-time online daily columnist, covering local news, politics, business, healthcare, education and sports with an independent, community-centered voice. Hanson has spent more than five decades reporting on issues that shape the Northland.
