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Ashland-Greenwood board weighs cuts to preschool, electives and extracurriculars in budget workshop
Summary
At an Oct. 8, 2025 budget workshop the Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools Board reviewed 12 suggested reductions to address district shortfalls — including preschool, extracurriculars, foreign language and intervention positions — but took no formal action; members will revisit suggestions at future meetings.
The Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools Board of Education met in a budget workshop on Oct. 8, 2025, to continue discussions about district budget shortfalls and potential program reductions. President Suzanne Sapp opened the session at 6:00 p.m. and emphasized that the workshop was for board deliberation only; no formal actions or public engagement would occur during the meeting.
Mrs. Finkey, speaking for the administrative team, reviewed materials that identified which programs and courses are required for accreditation and listed current staffing costs tied to each program. The board was told Mr. Libal had previously shared follow-up material to address questions from an earlier work session; Stacy Higgins, a Nebraska Association of School Boards representative, was noted as unable to attend but had provided guidance in advance.
Board members were asked to each identify two areas for further consideration. Six board members produced two suggestions apiece (12 total). Karen Stille read the compiled notecards aloud. Items with multiple mentions included Preschool and extracurricular activities/programs. Other items listed by board members were athletic software subscriptions, Middle School Student Council, Quiz Bowl, a possible reduction or consolidation of high-school administration duties (including combining some duties with operations/transportation supervision), transportation, reducing the number of foreign language courses, cutting elementary intervention by 0.5 FTE and middle school intervention by 0.5 FTE, and reducing skilled and technical-sciences staffing by one FTE.
The agenda also noted certified staff resignations under item 4.2; the workshop minutes record the item but do not provide additional detail about those resignations.
President Sapp and administrators reiterated that the session was an information-gathering and prioritization exercise; no policy changes or staff reductions were approved at the meeting. The board set its next meeting for Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. in the district conference room. The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m. on a motion by Board Member Eric Beranek, seconded by Board Member Karen Stille; the motion passed unanimously.
