A new activity fee policy greeted students on their return to classes this week at Rugby Public School.

The Rugby School Board adopted a fee policy on Aug. 11 that will apply to many school activities, but not all. The policy applies to all students participating in extracurricular activities, including those from Little Flower Catholic School and other school districts that participate through cooperatives.

The standard activity fee is $50 for grades 7-12 and $30 for grades 5-6 per activity, with a cap of $100 per student. To support families with multiple activities or children, a cap limits total fees to $300 per family.

Additionally, families qualifying for free lunch programs are eligible for a waiver in activity fees. Families qualifying for reduced cost lunches can receive a 50% reduction in activity fees.

Under the policy, the school is offering flexible payment plans. The amount of any fees owing are listed in each student’s online account with the district.

Board President Dustin Hager said activity fees on their own won’t significantly impact the difficult financial situation the school district finds itself in, which has led to an upcoming public vote on passage of an excess levy. However, even small changes add up, and activity fees can make a difference, he said.

The board agreed to impose fees for esports, speech, girls and boys basketball, girls and boys wrestling, fall and winter cheerleading, baseball, softball, girls and boys golf, girls and boys track, one act play, volleyball, football, cross country and hockey.

No activity fee would be required for FFA, Science Olympiad, summer weight training, DECA, Honor Society, music-band and choir, Student Council, FCCLA, Art Club and trap shooting.

The board decided not to charge activity fees for certain activities for various reasons. For instance, FFA, DECA, FCCLA and summer weight training already charge separate fees. Also, it is difficult to attract students to activities such as Science Olympiad, Honor Society and Student Council, so there is concern a fee would be an additional discouragement.

The board debated fees for trap shooting and Art Club before deciding against. The Art Club has not incurred costs but uses existing art room supplies, while the trap shooting program covers its own costs other than safety glasses and state registration that the school pays, according to information provided to the board. It was noted, though, there are adviser costs for all activities, and for esports, that is the only cost.

Other sports, such as basketball or football, are more expensive due to costs in purchasing and maintaining equipment and uniforms and covering transportation and operating costs.

The idea of possibly creating a second tier of lower fees for some activities was suggested for consideration in the future.

In other business, the board acknowledged a 1.75% cost-of-living increase in the bussing contract with Hartley’s School Buses. The board postponed taking action to first get clarification on the company’s proposal to merge routes 1 and 3. The district wants to examine whether the route merger is appropriate and whether a merger would impact the contract cost.

Elementary Principal Jason Gullickson reported grades K-6 had registered 227 students as of Aug. 11 for classes that started Tuesday, Aug. 18. Some changes are likely, but the final figure is expected to remain at about 230 students, he said.

Secondary Principal Jared Blikre reported 306 students had registered for the first day, compared to 310 last year.

The principals stated the school was fully staffed as it began the new term.