If voters reject an excess levy for the Rugby school district in October, the option could be cuts within extracurricular activities, technology and higher-level math electives.

The Rugby School Board met July 29 to make hard decisions on the alternatives if the excess levy vote on Oct. 14 fails to get the necessary 55% support. The district is seeking 10 mills for 10 years.

Three public meetings have been scheduled, beginning Aug. 26 at Ely Elementary at 6 p.m. A second meeting will be held Sept. 16 at Rugby High School auditorium at 6 p.m., and a third meeting on Sept. 30 will occur via Zoom at 6 p.m. The public vote on the excess levy will take place Oct. 14 from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. in the high school gym.

Superintendent Michael McNeff outlined immediate options for the board that included transferring a library aide to the Title IV tutoring program, which shifts costs from the general fund to federal funds, saving $26,000. Additional changes relate to not filling positions in activity programs.

The board agreed to cut adviser stipends for Honor Society and LEGO Robotics, which currently aren’t active, and FCCLA, for which the adviser is stepping down. Going unfilled will be second coaches, assistants or adviser assistants in one-act play, DECA, junior high girls basketball, girls golf, hockey and junior high speech.

McNeff said the district needs to make reductions of about $377,000. He provided a list of 12 other options to eventually get to that level, which he asked board members to rank from most acceptable to least acceptable.

The ranked choices found the most support for freezing extracurricular salaries and uniform purchases; reducing physical education instructors from two to one and increasing class sizes; eliminating a computer lab; discontinuing Chromebook purchases; reducing software purchases; reducing district technology staff from two to one; reducing staff and low-participation elective courses in math; and reassigning a student strategist, which would impact student support services. These changes will be presented to the public as potential cuts should the excess levy fail in October.

Board members identified the need to preserve the two agricultural education full-time-equivalency positions and school nurse and mental health therapist. They also gave low ranking to options to freeze salaries and consolidate grade sections at Ely Elementary.

McNeff said ranking at the bottom of the list for cuts doesn’t necessarily mean those ideas are off the table over the longer term.

“The excess mill levy just kicks the can a little bit farther down the road, and we’re back in the same boat a year or two from now,” Board President Dustin Hager said, citing potential rising costs for everything from health insurance to food vendors.

“I don’t think this is the end of the road if the excess mill levy passes. I think there are still considerable discussions that need to happen, and frankly, it’s going to be very challenging,” Hager said. “We are going to have to do some changes in regards to fiscal management, regardless of the outcome of the vote.”

McNeff said an excess levy isn’t the district’s solution for a quick fix to a new problem.

“This has been a long time coming in terms of how we manage the budget,” he said, noting the district has been reducing staff through attrition for about four years.

“This is a declining enrollment issue, and we have a class of 63 that will graduate here this year,” he said. “We are currently bringing in – last checked – 33 kindergarteners.”

Each lost student costs the district $11,633 in lost state revenue, according to district information. It amounts to a loss of $300,000 once this year’s graduating class is gone, McNeff said.

In light of the challenges, the district also is reviewing other fiscal options. McNeff mentioned discontinuing rental of the armory for extra gymnasium space. There could be more consideration placed on purchases of technology and other items to ensure they are highly used and used across multiple grades, he said. Also up for review are extracurricular activities and their participation rates and costs.

Potential sources of future new revenue include a technology fee, transportation fee for Little Flower students and students using rural bussing and fees for outside students in cooperative extra-curricular programs.

Hager also asked board members to look through the budget for other possible reductions that can be considered and that may be more acceptable than the ranked choice cuts.

Regardless of the mill levy outcome, the board indicated it is committed to keeping K-2 class sizes at two sessions per grade, protecting special education and maintaining elective courses, though with larger class sizes.