RENVILLE -- The Renville County West School Board approved a preliminary 2006 property tax levy of $501,000 this week.
The levy is slightly lower than the levy collected this year, said Superintendent Doug Conboy.
Total revenue for the coming school year is projected to be about $6.1 million, he said.
The district expects less revenue in the coming year, even with the addition of new per-pupil state aid for schools, Conboy said.
Declining enrollment and the loss of a $175,000 consolidation levy will contribute to the decreased revenue this year, he said. The final levy will be determined after public hearings on the levy later this fall.
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During a work session, board members also discussed the district's financial future and discussed a variety of options for the district, Conboy said.
"We're trying to be as thorough as possible," he said. The board decided to develop a newsletter for the community to keep residents informed about the district's plans for the future.
The district closed one of its three schools last summer as part of a cost-savings plan. There are some possibilities for tenants in the vacant middle school building in Danube, Conboy said.
The district now operates an elementary school in Sacred Heart and a secondary school in Renville. So far, the transition has gone well, Conboy said.
School officials "took care of everything we could think of," he said.
"The kids make the adjustment first," Conboy said.
Adding classes of active seventh-graders and eighth-graders to the secondary school has required a period of adjustment, he said.
Lunch periods were challenging at first for the two cafeterias, which are serving more students with different tastes, he added.
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-- Linda Vanderwerf
