The Anoka-Hennepin school board voted Monday for the second time in two months to close five elementary schools, a middle school, a kindergarten center and an early childhood center at the end of the 2009-10 school year. The schools to be closed are the same ones the board voted to close Sept. 28.

Monday's board action was required because of a legal oversight connected to the first vote; district officials had neglected to post notices in local newspapers of public meetings that preceded the September vote. As a result, the board not only had to take the second vote, but also had to hold another public meeting to discuss the proposed closings.

That meeting, held Wednesday, drew several dozen interested parents, most of whom represented Brooklyn Park's Riverview Specialty School for Math and Environmental Science. It was that group of parents who brought the advance-notice oversight to the district's attention. Riverview Specialty School parents pleaded their case at the second public meeting, citing the school's high test scores and location near the Mississippi River, which has served as a frequent destination for school projects and observation.

But, in the end, it was for naught, as Riverview stayed on the closing list, along with all the other schools initially axed. The first school closing meetings drew more than 300 participants.

The board passed the motion on a 5-1 vote, the same margin as last time, without comment.

"It was already decided," said Sue Schmitz, a Riverview parent. "This was rubbing salt in the wounds. We had the death of common sense, we had the death of logic, we had the death of excellence.''

In addition to Riverview, schools to be closed are: Peter Enich Kindergarten Center, in Anoka; Champlin Elementary School; L.O. Jacob Elementary School, in Coon Rapids; Sorteberg Elementary School, in Coon Rapids; and Sandburg Middle School, in Anoka. Another school, Park View Early Childhood Center, in Champlin, will reopen as a regular elementary school for the 2010-11 school year, and Washington Elementary, in Anoka, will reopen as a sixth-grade campus for middle-school students.

The decision to close the schools came as a dwindling student population in the district created excess space in the schools. Also, the closings will save $3.1 million a year at a time when the district is facing huge budget deficits. It marks the first time since the 1950s that the district has permanently shut down schools.

Norman Draper • 612-673-4547