Rock Ridge School District Eyes Four-Day Week to Close $2.78M Budget Gap

Facing up to $2.78 million in budget cuts driven by wage settlements that far outpaced state funding, the Rock Ridge School District placed a potential switch to a four-day school week on its board agenda this week, a move that would save roughly $257,000 but leave the bulk of a multimillion-dollar gap still to be closed.

The shortfall traces back to a compounding mismatch: between 2023-24 and 2024-25, the district received an extra $853,567 in state funding while the added cost of employee contracts reached $2.23 million, a difference of approximately $1.87 million. Staff wage increases, declining in-person enrollment as more students shift to online schooling, and state funding that has not kept pace with costs compounded the gap to what district officials now describe as up to $2.78 million for 2026-27.

"I thought it was going to quit this year, but we've seen another loss this year," said Finance Director Kim Johnson. "We're at the point now where they're going to be uncomfortable cuts."

A four-day week would generate savings through three line items: $219,712 in transportation costs, $20,000 in overtime, and $17,600 in activities tied to reducing junior high coaching pay. Both the transportation and activities savings would require union agreement before taking effect. Even combined, the $257,312 in four-day-week savings amounts to roughly one-tenth of the district's total shortfall.

The district surveyed four groups on the proposal and found broad support: 90 percent of teachers backed the change, followed by 83 percent of non-teaching staff, 72 percent of high school parents, and 62 percent of elementary parents. The proposed length of the school day under a four-day structure had not been released as of the board meeting.

Beyond the schedule change, the district's working-session materials outlined a range of additional reductions. Cutting extra athletic coaches would save $62,000. Technology-related reductions were listed at $131,000, including $100,000 from reducing iPad purchases in 2027-28. Transportation adjustments independent of the four-day week add up to $36,030, broken down as a 10 percent discount on bus maintenance labor ($6,700), a switch to number 2 diesel ($9,655), and a 20 percent reduction in away events for grades 7 through 12 ($19,675). Buildings and grounds savings of $15,000 were also listed, along with $50,000 covered by grants for a school-business coordinator.

Enrollment at Rock Ridge, which serves Virginia, Eveleth, and surrounding Iron Range communities through five elementary campuses including Northeast Range, North Woods, Cherry, South Ridge, and Tower-Soudan, has declined every year since 2022. The district peaked at 2,016 students in 2019-20 and projects 1,722 students next fall.

The board's posture on the four-day week has shifted. Last year, when facing $2.8 million in budget adjustments, members showed little appetite for reducing the school week, instead eliminating early-out Wednesdays and maintaining a five-day schedule to attract elementary families.

Rock Ridge would not be alone in making the move. Mountain Iron-Buhl and St. Louis County Schools both adopted four-day weeks last year. Ely is weighing the same change for 2026-27. The pressure across the Iron Range is acute: Hibbing, where enrollment ran 47 students below projections, faces a $2 million shortfall and its board voted unanimously to begin closing Greenhaven Elementary. St. Louis County Schools approved a $1.75 million budget reduction last month and could enter operational debt territory, which under state rules triggers a mandatory recovery plan.

Officials have acknowledged that research points to limited educational benefits from a four-day schedule, even as local survey results show communities on the Iron Range are willing to consider the tradeoff.