Minneapolis schools prepare downsizing plan

Minneapolis school officials are asking residents for patience as they prepare a draft plan for downsizing the school system in time for the 2010-11 school year.

The plans will include fewer schools and changes to school boundaries, bus routes and program locations. The district estimates the changes -- deemed necessary because of declining enrollments and dwindling state aid -- will affect nearly a third of its 32,500 students.

"This is a complex process," Superintendent Bill Green said. "We want to take time to assemble all the pieces we need."

The school board was scheduled to hear proposals next Tuesday, but now school officials say they will submit a plan April 28.

The district plans town hall meetings for the weeks of May 4 and 11, and a public hearing during the week of May 18. The board is scheduled to vote on a plan on May 26.

District officials for months have discussed a pressing need to "right-size" operations as it grapples with a projected deficit of $28 million for 2009-10.

That may be higher if the Legislature approves cuts to education, said finance chief Peggy Ingison. Minneapolis, which buses about 70 percent of its students, spends about $20 million a year on transportation.

Elementary school options include offering a mix of community schools and citywide magnets, or community schools and zoned magnets in four areas. An earlier scenario that would have assigned most elementary students to community schools was widely criticized because it drastically reduced choice and could exacerbate segregation.

Jill Stever-Zeitlin, a special planning adviser to Green, said changes would minimize future cuts to schools.

She said the administration may propose reducing magnet schools from 18 to 13 and closing some open attendance areas in south Minneapolis to ensure that all students have a nearby community school. This would mean fewer and shorter bus rides.

Attendance boundaries for elementary schools in southwest Minneapolis could be changed to incorporate areas east of Interstate 35W to balance their capacity and increase diversity.

"We know disruption interferes with learning," Stever-Zeitlin said. "We're the last people who want to make changes for change's sake." But "we can't get to a place where we can focus on the achievement gap unless we get rid of some of the excess buildings."

They've also introduced the idea of closing a middle school and up to two high schools to save about $1.4 million, $1.6 million to $3.2 million respectively.

Edison and North high schools and Folwell Middle have the lowest enrollments among secondary schools. But Folwell and North lease or plan to lease space to other programs, and Edison was restructured recently.

Time left for input

Many parents who attended community meetings said they understand the district is in a financial crisis, but they wish officials had revealed more of the proposals by now. "If people don't have any details they can imagine the worst," said Kip Wennerlund, a Burroughs Community Elementary School parent.

Wennerlund said the school could experience widespread disruption from a large turnover of students if the district closes a nearby open area that covers parts of the Kingfield and East Harriet neighborhoods.

"We don't know if they're going to allow grandfathering or sibling preference," Wennerlund said. "They're sort of taking us to task for being too white."

Wennerlund said it's frustrating because Burroughs has an English as a second-language program that brought Latino children in from other areas, but the district began phasing it out recently. He said parents hope the district will recommit to that program as a way to increase diversity.

"I'm a supporter of the district," he said. "We like being in the [city] schools, and we want to continue to help them get better. It's not about threatening to leave; it's about taking care not to damage successful programs in the process."