The Red Wing School Board has begun considering its options to cut nearly $2.3 million from its 2025 fiscal year budget, which begins July 1.

Lisa Rider, the district’s facilities and operations director, proposed options for the Red Wing School Board April 15 that included staff cuts and fee changes, but the list of ideas isn’t complete at this point. 

The school district is hosting a community forum to hear budget ideas and feedback at 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, April 23 at Red Wing High School. A community survey on the budget will also be posted on the school district’s website and its Facebook page from April 21 through April 24. People can both attend the community forum and fill out the online survey.

In its most recent projections, the district is expecting to have $39 million in revenue and $41.3 million in expenditures in its 2025 budget, according to Rider. 

The district will use the last of its federal Covid-19 pandemic funds by September and those funds aren’t included in the upcoming budget, she said. The three staff positions being funded by those dollars will shift to be an expenditure in the general fund. 

Ideas have been discussed among district administrators so far and Rider emphasized that the proposed cuts are “truly estimates” at this point. 

Proposed changes include “right-sizing” the staff, which would eliminate 15.6 positions in the district and reduce the district’s expenditures by $1.6 million, Rider said. The district will first look at where there are job vacancies that can be eliminated, she said. The district currently has a low student-teacher ratio and the district would still be close to that ratio with the elimination of the positions.

A review of the district’s processes could result in adjustments that would bring down expenditures by $200,000, according to Rider. 

Changes to athletics and activities passes and participation fees would bring in an additional $77,690 in revenue and the district could adjust its athletics and activities staffing to save $21,964 in expenditures, according to Rider.

If all those adjustments are made, the district would still need to find $370,091 to cut in the budget, she said.

School board member Rachel Marshall Schoenfelder said the district’s sports and activities offerings should be on the table for potential cuts. She asked for a list of activities and sports offered at other Big 9 Conference schools to be provided to the school board to compare.

“We have declining enrollment and we’re still offering all the activities and sports that we offered with a bigger student population,” she said.

The proposed changes include decreasing the yearly high school student activity pass price, which could lead to more kids paying for it and increased revenue, Rider said. Additionally, the student activity fee is proposed to be increased to match the athletic fee currently charged.

A yearly adult activity pass and an increase for adult ticket prices could also bring in more revenue, Rider said. 

The proposed changes include eliminating the cap on how much an individual pays in fees, but the district is proposing to maintain the cap on how much a family pays, Rider said.

The district is also proposing to charge to watch high school games online, Activities Director Paul Hartmann said.

The district doesn’t have enough players for a junior varsity girls hockey team next year and the district can eliminate an assistant hockey coach position due to that, Hartmann said. The district is also exploring having some of the booster clubs financially support some of the coach positions in the district. 

The district is considering eliminating its DECA program due to lagging participation numbers and the paid advisor position for that program could be eliminated, Hartmann said.

The district will also ask youth and high school organizations to absorb the district’s cost for the concessions manager, he said. 

If you go

What: Community forum on Red Wing school district budget

When: 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, April 23

Where: Red Wing High School