Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Finance And Redistricting topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rice Lake school board opens public process on elementary boundary change as budget shortfall looms
Summary
The Rice Lake Area School District presented a preliminary staffing report that proposes redrawing a 4K/K boundary along 24th Avenue to shift students to Hagen; the board directed the district administrator to contact affected families and hold a community meeting after finance discussions flagged a multi-year budget shortfall.
The Rice Lake Area School District board on March 23 treated a preliminary staffing report as a first reading and asked the district to begin outreach to families after finance committee members warned of significant budget pressures.
District Administrator Randy said the staffing document was being presented for review and explicitly noted that "this is the first reading and won't be formally approved until the next meeting," signaling that any boundary changes remain tentative. The administration proposed moving the 4K and kindergarten boundary to 24th Avenue so that students north of 24th would attend Hagen; students south of that line would be split between Tainter and Hilltop.
The proposal is intended to balance enrollment for 4K and kindergarten sections across elementary buildings. Administrators said the change would initially affect only 4K and kindergarten families and that most currently enrolled students would remain at their present schools.
Budget concerns framed much of the board discussion. Finance committee member Don Kutsky said the district has trimmed roughly $1,435,000 from the 2024–25 budget and about $1.1 million for 2025–26 and that the district still faces a structural gap tied to state funding and special-education reimbursements. "For the 24–25 school year, we trimmed about 1 million 435,000 out of the budget," Kutsky said as he summarized prior reductions.
Board members debated whether redistricting, multi-age classes or closing a small elementary could materially close the gap. Several trustees stressed the community value of neighborhood schools and warned savings from a closure could be smaller than projected because fixed costs and program needs can follow students.
After discussion, the board approved a motion directing District Administrator Randy to contact families who would be affected by the proposed boundary change and to convene a community meeting in the affected town to present financial facts and gather input. Board members said they want families' views before a final decision and that any staffing or school configuration changes would follow a future vote.
Next steps: the staffing report returns for formal approval at the board's next meeting three weeks later; administration must provide clear enrollment projections and financial analysis in advance of any final action.
