Hard decisions loom on closing schools, reshuffling students

The Anoka-Hennepin school board meets in coming days to vote on options that affect thousands of district families.

By NORMAN DRAPER, Star Tribune

Last update: November 14, 2009 - 11:27 PM

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A public meeting to discuss school closings will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Blaine High School, 12555 University Av. NE, Blaine.

A school board vote is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23, at the district boardroom, Educational Service Center, 11299 Hanson Blvd. NW, Coon Rapids.

Over the next eight days, the Anoka-Hennepin school board will return to the sensitive subject of school closings and take up boundary changes that could result in 3,700 district students moving to new schools next year.

The board voted last month to shut down five elementary schools, a middle school, a kindergarten center, and an early childhood center at the end of this school year. But that decision was nullified because the district had neglected to post a legal notice announcing public meetings preceding the decision.

As a result, the board must hold another public meeting Wednesday to discuss the closings, and on Nov. 23, it will vote on the issue again, probably with the same results.

At the same Nov. 23 meeting, the board is to act on attendance boundaries that will change because of the closings. Under the district's proposal, out of the 3,700 students who would be shuffled to other schools next year, 2,850 would be elementary school kids. That's between one-fourth and one-fifth of the district's elementary school population. The other 850 students would be middle school students, less than 10 percent of the district total at that level.

In a couple of cases, schools slated for closing would be combined and moved to one location. In others, students would be shifted to other schools.

For instance, students at Washington Elementary in Anoka would be sent to four other schools, with the majority headed for Wilson Elementary, also in Anoka. In turn, 60 Wilson students would shift to Crooked Lake Elementary in Andover. Washington, meanwhile, would become a new campus for sixth-grade middle school students.

Students at L.O. Jacob in Coon Rapids would also be distributed among four other schools, with Mississippi Elementary, also in Coon Rapids, getting the biggest portion.

Factors behind decisions

Anoka-Hennepin has proposed closing schools to save money and fill up space that district officials say is going unused or underused at some other schools. If the proposed closings go into effect, it will save a projected $3.1 million a year.

Officials said several criteria were used to decide where to put the displaced students. Available space, transportation costs, and maintaining racial balance were big factors. Officials also said they tried to avoid breaking up school populations or sending students too far away from home.

"When possible ...we made a strong attempt to keep neighborhoods together," said Mary Wolverton, associate superintendent for elementary education. "We tried to be mindful of the length of bus rides. We have a couple of scenarios where students might be looking at 10-minute-longer bus rides."

School board Chairman Tom Heidemann said that, in some instances, students would have shorter rides to their new schools. But he said it was inevitable that some parents and students would be inconvenienced by the proposed changes.

"We have to change boundaries and fill up empty rooms," Heidemann said. "There are going to be some families that are happy with it and some that aren't."

In some elementary schools -- Ramsey, Johnsville in Blaine, and Rum River in Anoka, for instance -- district officials still expect growth. In many others, though, they said there's room to accommodate students from schools being closed.

Heidemann noted that the district had not altered its boundaries in eight years.

"We're not overcrowding schools," he said. "We're filling schools to capacity. ... One thing we've found is that if you keep the stability, that's really what parents want. We've had eight years of stability in Anoka-Hennepin for our boundaries, but we really could not hold that any longer."

Norman Draper • 612-673-4547

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