Brainerd Dispatch: News | Brainerd, Minnesota | Brainerd Lakes Area News on brainerddispatch.com

Home > NEWS >

Friday, October 9, 2009

E-mail

Forums

District looks at options for handling growth

Brainerd School Board Facilities Committee

By JODIE TWEED

Staff Writer

Within five years, the Brainerd School District is projected to have about 300 more elementary students than it has room for now.

Even this school year, the district is over by 29 elementary students if its goal is an average 25 students per class.

On Thursday, the Brainerd School Board Facilities Committee heard five options from school administrators that could relieve anticipated elementary growth right around the corner. School administrators requested the board make a decision by December so any changes may be implemented by next fall.

Proposed elementary options.

No action was taken but discussion on this issue will take place at Monday's regular board meeting and will be ongoing this fall. There will be opportunities for parents and community members to weigh in on the issue,Superintendent Steve Razidlo said.

If the board decides on one of these five options, it will mean several students will once again change elementary schools and possibly, although it appeared to be one of the more costlier options, Whittier School might be re-opened.

Along with several large high school classes, larger kindergarten classes are now beginning to enter the system. The lakes area has had a baby boom in recent years and these children are now or soon will be entering the school system. The middle and high schools are not projected to see this type of growth.

Steve Lund, director of business services, explained that the district historically has used live birth data from St. Joseph's Medical Center to project future enrollment. Now a new model allows for better accuracy, taking into account actual births to families by ZIP code, rather than where the birth took place. This includes births to families within the district from Lakewood Health System in Staples, Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby and the Twin Cities metro area, for example.

This model, utilized this year, projected 522 kindergarten students this fall and there are 523 kindergartners, said Lund.

Lund said if the board's goal, as previously discussed, is average K-4 class sizes of 25 students or fewer, the district will be 80 students over capacity next year, 131 students over in 2011-12, 185 students over in 2012-13, 276 students over in 2013-14 and 295 students over in 2014-15. Based on projections, not actual births, the district is projected to have 355 students over capacity in 2015-16 and 412 students over in 2016-17.

Board member Molly Kurtzman asked if any new schools were factored into this calculation. Discovery Woods Montessori School received approval earlier this week by the state to open as a charter elementary school in the Brainerd-Baxter area next fall, enrolling about 76 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Superintendent Steve Razidlo said even if this proposed school hit its proposed maximum capacity the district would still be over its target of 25 students per class within the next 5-7 years.

Here's a look at the five options presented to board members:

Re-open Whittier School for one section of K-4 and a half-section, or four classrooms, for the Lowell enrichment program, creating space for 225 students. Total upfront costs to reopen, fully furnish and add instructional supplies and curriculum would be $375,000 with total reoccurring costs around $632,500.

When the building was closed in May of 2008 after the failed levy referendum, all the furniture, fixtures and equipment were reused in other buildings to accommodate the additional students.

The building also has a sewer project that would need to be addressed at a cost of about $50,000 if the building were to be reoccupied, whether by renters or the district. This has been factored into the total cost, said Lund. The average operational cost per pupil unit would be $700.

Out of the 225 students, 80 would come from the Lowell attendance boundary area, 45 students from Riverside and 100 students from the enrichment program. This plan would allow relief to Lowell and Riverside schools. Lowell's attendance boundary could expand into the northeast portion of the Garfield attendance boundary, including the Merrifield area. The southeastern section of Harrison's attendance boundary could shift to Garfield's attendance boundary.

Relocate Baxter fourth grade to Forestview Middle School, creating four open classrooms at Baxter, allowing the school to become a five-section K-3 school. Total upfront costs would be about $40,000 with total reoccurring costs around $472,500, adding new spaces for 125 students. The average operational cost per pupil unit would be $120.

Not all elementary students who live in Baxter go to Baxter School now because the school doesn't have the room. This proposal would move 110 students to Baxter School. By adjusting the Baxter attendance boundary to the north, this would add about 26 fourth-grade students to Forestview to create a total of five fourth-grade sections. The Nisswa attendance boundary would be adjusted, providing relief to Garfield School.

Purchase new portable classrooms at Riverside School to create a kindergarten wing, creating 100 spaces for students. Total upfront costs would be about $60,000 with reoccurring costs at $604,500. The district would have the authority to levy about $138,000 a year for five years for the $600,000 cost for the manufactured classroom facility, which would include four classrooms, restrooms and cafeteria. The average operational cost per pupil unit would be $240.

By adding four portable classrooms, Riverside School, already the largest elementary school in the district with 563 students, would grow by 100 students. By adjusting the southwestern Baxter attendance boundary (Camwood Trail), 40 students would move to Riverside and 80 more would come from Lowell's attendance area. About 20 students from the eastern Riverside boundary would move to Harrison. As a result, all attendance boundaries, except Nisswa's, would be adjusted to ensure balance across the schools.

Purchase two used portable classrooms and install then at Lowell School, creating 100 new spaces for students. Total upfront costs are $36,000 and total reoccurring costs are $439,000. The district has the opportunity to purchase two remodeled manufactured units housing four classrooms from the St. Cloud School District at a cost of $25,000. Transport and installation costs would be about $55,000. The average operational cost per pupil unit would be $180.

By adding the four classrooms at Lowell, the student population would increase by 100 students. Most of these students would be added by adjusting the Garfield and Nisswa attendance boundaries, reducing the class size and current overcapacity of these two buildings.

Open Washington Educational Services Building to one section of K-4 and the Lowell enrichment program, adding 225 spaces for students. The total upfront costs would be about $525,000 and total reoccurring costs about $567,500. This amount includes $200,000 for potential parking. Lund said the district added 60 parking spaces this fall at Washington but that isn't enough to get up to city code if the building reopens as a school. He said the district could try to get the city to waive this additional parking space requirement if the board decides on this option. The average operational cost per pupil unit would be $178.

By opening a one section K-4 school at Washington, 120 students would move from Riverside School and still fall within that one-mile walk zone. These students are currently being bused to Riverside. By moving the enrichment program to Washington, the attendance boundaries for Lowell and Garfield would be adjusted to provide relief for those schools. This adjustment would go north toward Merrifield and affect about 100 students. Razidlo noted that the district could not house as many students at Washington as it did when it was a middle school, due to building limitations that made the district close it in the first place. But it could handle about 225 students, the same number of students that could be accommodated at Whittier if it were reopened.

JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.

Note: Comments are not edited and don't represent the views of The Brainerd Dispatch. Please read our posting rules in the terms of service policy. To report a post that may be inappropriate, click the triangle alert icon.