Screen Photo The Minot Public School Board discusses a looming budget deficit during the regular school board meeting Thursday.

Declining enrollment and deficits have prompted the Minot School Board to look at cost savings that could include closing an elementary school.

Superintendent Mark Vollmer told the board Thursday that enrollment is down 100 students from this time last year. Vollmer said that amounts to about $1 million less in state aid, which is compounded by a general spending deficit looming in the new year.

Vollmer said there was a real possibility an elementary school such as McKinley or Bell Elementaries could be closed in response to the declining enrollment, saying the district had more space than they had students. Vollmer said a demographer was consulted who reported further population decline could occur next year.

“I would say as we look at these issues, they’re very sensitive issues – the discussion of potentially closing an elementary school, or the discussion of Memorial on Minot Air Force Base for example, those with declining enrollments,” Vollmer said. “There’s a lot of decisions that we need to look at and a lot of information that we need to gather.”

MPS Business manager Laura Dokken said the issue was broadly discussed at a board retreat in December and there were a lot of different factors at play.

“There’s a lot of things to consider,” Dokken said. “We need to start looking at what we’re spending.”

Dokken laid out the deficit budget for 2023-2024 to prepare the board for discussion on a realignment in the fall in response to the declining enrollment, which amounts to $1.3 million in lost revenue heading into the next school year, or about $11,000 per student. Such numbers are determined by the enrollment from the previous year.

Dokken said the projected total deficit spending heading into the next school year is $6.8 million. Dokken indicated that $2.9 million of the deficit comes just from the operating costs for the new Minot North High School. Vollmer said the district does have about $21 million in reserve to absorb the deficit temporarily.

Dokken recommended a shift of general fund dollars from a levy to help mitigate the pain from the spending deficit by initiating a vote to transition the general levy to a building levy. Dokken stressed that the intent of the recommendation was to avoid any possible increases to levies and property tax.

Vollmer noted the districts in question voted 60% in favor of the 2022 special assessments. Dokken and Vollmer asked the board to provide direction or suggestions to address the issue.

Board member Jim Rostad voiced concern there would likely be some resistance to a potential vote, saying many are already smarting from their property tax increases.

The board spent time discussing the issues, entertaining options that included adding middle school classes to the smaller elementary schools. Vollmer noted even if a building is closed, the students and 13 teaching positions will be transitioned to different schools.

Another option discussed included selling 70 acres donated to the district near Erik Ramstad Middle School. Vollmer said it could offset the deficit temporarily, but it will require infrastructure work to make it viable for sale.

No overall decision was made at the meeting, with the board commissioning Vollmer and Dokken to collect information to present to them at a later meeting.