Lakeville school board members spared some popular programs when they finalized budget cuts on Tuesday, but said they plan to ask voters for more funding this fall.

Middle school programs and ninth-grade B-team sports -- both of which would have been slashed under previous budget drafts -- were let off the hook when the board approved a plan to fill a $3.8 million gap for 2010-11.

The reprieve pleased parents such as Jeff Zellmer, president of the Lakeville Football Association. Many football players on B teams as freshmen go on to play varsity, he said, and "it would be a huge shame for those kids to not have that opportunity."

Several board members have said they can't stomach more cuts without first giving the community the choice of raising school taxes, and the board plans to start talking about a November levy referendum next month.

In 2007, Lakeville voters rejected two of three levy requests at the polls, with one request failing by 12 votes. The school board was split last fall on a tax increase, so it didn't get on the ballot.

"Any time you put something up for a vote, I think that's a good thing," said Zellmer, who said he'd have to see a specific proposal before deciding whether to support a tax increase this fall.

To avoid some cuts for next year, the school district will use more reserve funds than it had planned. Activity directors will also come up with a plan to support ninth-grade athletics by raising money from advertising, said Superintendent Gary Amoroso.

The board also agreed to add 30 students to its enrollment projections. If those kids show up this fall, they would bring an additional $140,000 in per-pupil funding, Amoroso said.

The decision to draw down the district's reserve funds was a tough one for board members, including Bob Erickson, who cast the lone dissenting vote on Tuesday. "We still don't deal with the future," he said, arguing that the board rejected some of his money-saving suggestions. "We still are just solving a problem for the short term, when we have a long-term responsibility."

The school board's plan for the budget changed in part because many parents objected to the cuts proposed for ninth-grade sports and the middle schools.

District leaders said that federal stimulus funding, a favorable contract with teachers and salary freezes for administrators meant they had to cut less than they expected. A few months ago, the district estimated a budget gap of $6.5 million.

Sarah Lemagie • 952-882-9016