Update (4 p.m.): The Rock Ridge School Board agenda for Monday was made public, listing 15 staff members facing either termination and non-renewal resolutions, or unrequested leave, effective at the end of the 2024-25 school year.

Also on the agenda are memorandums of understanding to be decided on, but no names are currently listed for teachers or principals opting into the buyout and $10,000 incentive.

No principals were listed for votes on termination or unrequested leave. Two were listed on a staff reduction scenario with $300,000 projected in savings.

The board meeting starts at 6 p.m. Monday. The following teaching contracts are listed on the agenda:

• Gena Flank, early childhood teacher
• Hayley Halls, interventionist at Laurentian Elementary
• Shane Wetzel, science teacher
• Taryn Greiner, physical education teacher
• Lee Costley, special education teacher
• Amanda Spotts, music teacher
• Laura Bakhtiari, student programs interventionist
• Drew Aho, student programs STEAM interventions (LTS)
• Katie Hunter, third grade teacher, LTS
• Adam Tritt, English teacher
• Chris Fettig, music teacher (choir)
• Anita Leander Flores, student programs ESL
• Benjamin Norman, English teacher
• Julia Holien, early education ECFE parent educator
• Kate Barnes, first grade teacher
• Note: These terminations or unrequested leave positions have not been voted on, and are not final.

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Rock Ridge will start considering at least $2.5 million in budget adjustments Monday, with potential decisions set to be made on 15 teachers and two principals, along with staff members taking early buyout incentives. 

The district isn’t alone in facing budget shortfalls next year. Hibbing identified $1.8 million in potential cuts Wednesday and will face the same decisions April 9. Monday’s board vote for Rock Ridge is only the first round of approved cuts. Teachers and staff with tenured positions have to be decided on by April 1, which barring a special meeting, sets the stage for next week.

Staff cuts at this moment are particularly hard-hitting for the Iron Range region, which learned Thursday that Cleveland-Cliffs would be laying off 630 people at its Minorca and Hibbing Taconite mines, possibly up to six months. 

The uncertainty of mine idling timelines is not only an economic impact locally, now coupled with dozens of school jobs likely going away, but also directly to the district’s future funding. School districts around the Range receive a portion of mining property taxes on a three-year rolling average, so when production halts, the financial impact looms.

Rock Ridge Superintendent Dr. Noel Schmidt said 80% of the district’s budget consists of salaries. Several factors have driven schools to this point, and some areas of surplus within the budget can’t be reallocated. The same goes for the impact of new building construction, which was a separate pot of money from the operating budget. 

At the March 18 working session, Schmidt provided the board with a list of 11 staffing related reductions. Among them were 6-8 licensed staff at the high school, 5-7 staff at the elementary level, two principals and approving early retirements/resignations with a $10,000 incentive offer. All those would need to be decided Monday, totaling about $1.6 million.

“We are going to have names for you,” he said. “You don’t have to act on it, but you need to reduce the budget somewhere and you will have to act on Monday. If you don’t act on Monday, I’m going to turn to you and ask where you want to cut $1,582,0000.”

Schmidt estimated the full scale of staff reductions would add an average of 1.5 students to each class, a point teachers in the audience verbally disagreed with him on. 

All told, the district is considering combining positions, reducing support staff and cutting up to 20 paraprofessionals, among other staff cuts. It’s also waiting for the former Gilbert school property to sell, while evaluating zero raises for staff over the next two years, and eliminating early-out Wednesdays in favor of four staff development days. 

Board directors dismissed the idea of a four-day school week with minimal discussion. Mountain Iron-Buhl recently approved that concept, and Mesabi East opted not to implement it after community meetings to consider it. 

The two-hour long working session this week covered nearly all the proposed cuts, and ideas sent in from staff or questions from directors on other options. Ahead of Monday’s vote, this story will attempt to capture the conversations from the March 18 meeting.

“I don’t think we should go this deep,” said Director Jennifer Bonner, who is in her first term, on the full scope of teacher reductions. 

Director Tim Riordan, a veteran of Rock Ridge and Virginia boards, responded: “This is the worst thing you’ll do as a school board member.”

Did Rock Ridge save money on the Eveleth utilities?

Not exactly, according to Business Manager Andrea Lintula. Directors were hoping to see a large cost reduction as the old heating systems on the Eveleth campus were taken offline, but the numbers have panned out.

Why?  Rock Ridge High School’s utilities bills have exceeded expectations as the district is taking on demand rate charges from Virginia Public Utilities. Lintula said the district is having an energy audit performed on the new buildings, and hoped to have an update in April.

Maintenance Director Mike Hoag said part of the answer to the problem is the same as why overtime rates in his department haven’t reduced. The high school is getting a lot of use from within the district, and outside groups. 

“We’re a really busy place — every weekend at the high school,” he said. “As we’re trying to cut down, we have to have people. It’s like a snowball.”

Hoag added he would look into the budget impacts of hiring part-time workers to cover overtime costs, on an as-needed basis. 

Combine Activities and Community Education

This would save a projected $90,000 by bringing the two director positions into one. 

Schmidt said the Community Education budget alone could pay for the position’s salary and the administrative assistant who is already under both umbrellas. Community Education finished the 2024 year with a $327,520 surplus. 

Community Education covers youth sports, Wolverine Care, community classes and more. Its budget is earmarked only for Community Education expenses. The only downside, he added, is that the programs are part of the buildings’ high usage.

In addition, Director Jodi Westby suggested the district look at raising ticket prices for activities and athletic events.

Combine Transportation and Building & Grounds

A projected $90,000 in savings here by making the jobs into one. 

Schmidt said districts Rock Ridge’s size typically keep the positions separate, but “I put everything out to consider.” If this was cut down to one, the district would look at adding a part-time clerical job similar to what’s in place now for Activities/Community Education, and the savings would be realized still once benefits are factored into the mix.

But with buildings spread out over two cities, Riordan said one person doing both would be an “impossible ask.”

There’s a potential path to this option that would reduce the workload. Transportation Director Bob Voss told the board at its March 10 regular meeting that he was exploring the idea of outsourcing transportation, and whether it would save the district money. Current bus drivers wouldn’t be out of jobs necessarily, as they could work for the third party. It would also lower maintenance costs to the district in the long run.

Voss hoped to have an answer for the district this month. 

Other staff reductions

Director Nicole Culbert-Dahl said she wasn’t in favor of cutting the two principal positions listed at a $300,000 savings. Director Lisa Westby added “the community would not be happy.”

Discussion centered around needing to have an administration employee in the buildings at all times. Adding duties to current teaching staff could end up reducing the budget impact.

“If you put a teacher in, like a dean, you pretty much lost the savings,” Schmidt said. 

Cuts to the business were made during consolidation and the board felt there was nothing more to reduce. Same with various areas of support staff, primarily behavioral and nurses.

“My staff is lucky to get a lunch break,” said Parkview Principal Sheena Stefanich. “I need not say anymore.”

The proposed combination of the school career coordinator with the curriculum coordinator or career center coordinator would save $100,000 by reducing three jobs to two. Schmidt said the district can do any combination of the three and reach the same number.

Secretaries positions were discussed in terms of what exists and part-time versus full-time. Most in the district are part-time, but North Star, Laurentian and the high school have at least one full-time secretary with benefits, due to the exceptions made during consolidation with the Eveleth-Gilbert contracts.

“I don’t want to cut teachers,” Bonner said. “We need to look at cuts in that area, too.”

Early retirements/resignations

Schmidt said some staff members expressed interest in the buyout option, which provides a $10,000 incentive. He said if the board is interested in approving memorandums of understanding with those staff members, he’d bring the MOUs and names to be approved Monday.

Bonner questioned if the $10,000 incentive and if it should be removed, noting it could go toward retaining a teacher. 

“Because it’s going to work,” Schmidt said. “It will help someone who could stop working now. They’re going to take it because it’s better to leave voluntarily than involuntarily.”

Director Tim Riordan said most of the staff who would take the buyout are nearing retirement and at the top of the union pay scale. The incentive for the district allows them to shed the higher salary and retain newer teachers lower on the wage scale, which in some cases is a $40,000 difference.

Those closing in on retirement need less incentive to get over the hump than younger teachers.

“You’re going to have to vote on the retirement incentive next week,” Schmidt added. “The $10,000 isn’t much for some of those teachers. Some you need to throw several hundred thousand dollars at to get them to leave early.”

Zero and Zero raises

Schmidt said the prospect of zero raises would ultimately need to be a negotiation with the union, and admitted it’s not a popular idea. With fewer state dollars coming and potential cuts to special education funding, it’s an idea on the table.

Lisa Westby cited the projected enrollment declines, especially among students in the district under 5 years old, as a reason for the district to starting thinking about how to operate as a small school. 

“We need to prepare to streamline that,” she said. 

Director Brandi Lautigar asked if compensation for administration, including Schmidt, would be something the board could take a look at.

“I would prefer to talk about that in a different format,” Schmidt said. 

Eliminating early out Wednesdays

Rock Ridge currently releases students an hour early on Wednesdays to account for staff development time. Schmdit expects $25,000 in savings by returning to a full day and scheduling four staff development days, without students, during the year.

He added there was belief that staff development was more efficient with dedicated days rather than after school. School districts aren’t legally required to have staff development, but factors like the READ Act and career academy could necessitate it for Rock Ridge.

“Residents voted for it, so somebody has to do all that stuff,” Schmidt said, referencing the academies model. “You can’t cut the heart out of the high school. You still have to have people paying attention to this.”

Rental revenues?

Board Chair John Uhan wanted the district to look into renting out the 1402 Progress Parkway building. Bonner followed up with questions about Choice Therapy and Orthopedic Associates, which are housed in the district office building at 1405 Progress Parkway.

Schmidt said the companies do not pay rent to Rock Ridge, a deal negotiated with a prior school board. Remodeling work was done by the companies, who in lieu of rent, are part of the career academies model for students pursuing healthcare professions and education.

The agreed upon tradeoff was a 10-year contract. Orthopedic Associates also provides Rock Ridge with athletic trainers at no cost to the district.

“They do take our kids,” said Willie Spelts, director of school to work engagement and fundraising coordinator. “The amount of kids isn’t exorbitant, but they take them no problem when we have them.”

Grant writing

Bonner questioned how the district fares in grant applications as a form of revenue. The Starbase program ($10,000) is now paid for through grant funding. Schmidt pointed to other grants either received or that Rock Ridge is waiting for a decision.

The board discussed the idea of hiring a grant writer, which Schmidt tends to draw some ire, especially during a time of cuts. But, he added, “they will bring in more money than they’re paid.”

Coaching cuts

The proposed $62,000 in savings by reducing extra athletic coaches was a remnant of the consolidation, Schmidt said. When districts merged, they kept everyone together, but over time it has made less sense. 

He added the contracts are written in a way that gives sports some flexibility to adjust coaches on a per student basis. Nothing is set in stone that each sport gets a certain number of coaches. 

Possible reductions are “all over the place, in every sport,” Schmidt said.