What is wrong with this picture? First comes an article featuring St. Paul's Ames Elementary School ("Minnesota students are put to the test to improve scores," April 12). It spoke of Ames as having 90 percent of its children coming from low-income homes, and 86 percent being children of color. The students' test results are above average for the district, and the school was the best in the state two years ago on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment-II exams. Two days later it's announced that Ames may soon be closed and its students and programs co-located with another school ("St. Paul plans to close eight schools," April 14). Minnesota missed out on federal Race to the Top funding partially because of the racial achievement gap. When we have a school that is making a difference in this area, aren't we shooting ourselves in the foot to disrupt it? A well-educated population will make Minnesota a more prosperous state. If our legislators can find creative ways to fund sports stadiums, why aren't they trying harder to find ways to keep our schools open? KAREN STENSON, MAPLEWOOD