Who can blame Stillwater school administrators for wanting to close three elementary schools? ("Stillwater schools are right to go 'BOLD,' " editorial, Feb. 20.) District leaders have made the following reasonable case for the closings:

• It was a known risk of not passing a 2013 levy.

• Enrollment in the two elementary schools in the northern part of the district is declining.

• The Metropolitan Council predicts a 5 percent to 6 percent decline in central and northern population by 2030.

• Consolidating students into fewer buildings is more fiscally responsible.

• Consolidating schools will reduce class sizes and have positive academic effects.

• The administration's new facility-capacity study showed unexpected underutilization of space in some schools.

There's only one problem with the district's case — none of these reasons is true.

Area voters approved the 2013 levy, taking school closings off the table. Voters also approved a $97.5 million bond issue in 2015. District administrators promised that school closings were off the table if voters approved the bond.

Enrollment is increasing at the three schools proposed for closure. Marine and Withrow elementary schools have seen 24 percent and 32 percent growth since 2009.

The Met Council predicts 20 percent population growth for Washington County and an almost 27 percent increase in households by 2030. It does predict a 5.2 percent decrease in persons per household, from 2.7 today to 2.5 by 2030. But, with more households, you still see population growth. District administrators repeatedly have misstated this 5.2 percent statistic, falsely claiming it represents a decline in overall population.

It's true that studies on consolidating schools show economic efficiency and improved academic performance. But these studies were all conducted before 1970. Contemporary research has shown that consolidation is likely to do more harm than good. This is the conclusion of a comprehensive review and analysis titled "Consolidation of Schools and Districts: What the Research Says and What It Means," published by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) at the University of Colorado-Boulder in February 2011. Overall, the authors warned that school closures often result in extra costs such as transportation and management. Student academic performance significantly worsens. Stillwater administrators have provided no research to refute this study.

Administrators have given voters mixed messages about class sizes since BOLD — "Building Opportunities to Learn and Discover" — was proposed, but what they have said is this: There are no plans for changing the class-size parameters set by the board. Without hiring new teachers and changing staff ratios, class size is unlikely to change and may result in overcrowding. The administration claims that an in-depth capacity study completed this past fall, upon which the BOLD proposal is based, brought the full impact of the capacity challenges to light. This is also false. Administrators used the same capacity and enrollment projections as did the prior administration. In fact, these projections were attached to the application sent to the Minnesota Department of Education for review and comment. The department was asked to approve the $97.5 million bond amount to expand the district through additional construction, including building a new elementary school in south Washington County. The Education Department approved the project. Now, administrators want to use the same projection study to justify closing three schools.

It's irresponsible for the Star Tribune Editorial Board to blame parents for "community rifts" initiated by the BOLD proposal. The blame falls squarely on the district leaders. When you mislead the voters; disseminate false enrollment and demographic information; ignore up-to-date research, and make a mockery of the Education Department by delegitimizing its review-and-consent approval process, you deserve every ounce of criticism.

H. Zis Weisberg, of Stillwater, is a physician.