Open enrollment is hot button issue in district election

Two candidates for the St. Anthony-New Brighton board say crush of students hurts district, residents.

By NORMAN DRAPER, Star Tribune

Last update: October 15, 2009 - 10:31 PM

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Two candidates for the St. Anthony-New Brighton school board think the district is taking in too many outsiders.

Sandor Miko and Kelly Everhart, running against three board incumbents for three of the district's five seats, are taking aim at a longtime district practice: admitting hundreds of nonresident students under the state's open enrollment law.

Both candidates, who contend that the additional students clog the system and keep district property taxes high, say they're getting an earful of complaints about the practice from acquaintances or while campaigning door-to-door for the Nov. 3 election.

"You're seeing a bit of polarization with this election, with open enrollment being seen as the problem," said Everhart, a lawyer who lives in St. Anthony. "We have the largest open enrollment in the state."

Open enrollment is a cornerstone of Minnesota's reputation as a national leader in the area of school choice, and St. Anthony-New Brighton is a poster district for the practice. Of its 1,700 students, an estimated 45 percent live outside the district, in such neighboring districts as Minneapolis, Mounds View, Columbia Heights and Roseville.

District officials say those extra students bring in an additional $3 million in revenues for the district, because state funding is done on a per-pupil basis. As a result, said district Superintendent Rod Thompson, the district is able to afford more course offerings, including Advanced Placement courses. That, in turn, has resulted in a district reputation for top academic results, he said.

"We get nationally renowned results not only in Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report [school rankings], but in ACT [college admission] tests," Thompson said.

"Academically, it's been a huge success for the district," said school board Chairman Barry Kinsey, who is one of the incumbents seeking reelection. The others are David Evans and Leah Slye.

But Everhart and Miko, a salesman who lives in St. Anthony, say the added students are crowding the district's schools. Plus, they say, residents shoulder a bigger tax burden, in part because there are fewer households paying district property taxes than there are households with students in the schools.

Both candidates stress that they don't want to do away with open enrollment, just control it, and initially convene a task force to study it.

Thompson said the point is moot anyway, because the open enrollment law requires a district to enroll students from elsewhere if space exists. Historically, the district has had waiting lists of students from other districts.

Norman Draper • 612-673-4547

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