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Friday, November 30, 2007
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TOUGH CHOICES MADE MLC going to Lincoln Staff Writer Through her tears, Brainerd School Board member Ruth Gmeinder made the recommendation Thursday to close Whittier Elementary School and relocate the Minnesota Learning Center to Lincoln Elementary School, thus closing both elementary schools at the end of the school year.
"With a heavy heart I do this," Gmeinder told the Brainerd School Board Finance Committee, her voice shaking. "I've been on the board since 1989 and never have I had such a difficult decision. (Earlier) I leaned to Mr. (Reed) Campbell and said, 'I'm not sure I can do this.'"
Superintendent Jerry Walseth explained to a packed audience at Thursday's meeting why the decision was made to close Whittier and Lincoln schools, versus closing Harrison or Nisswa schools.
Walseth said Harrison school has the most economically disadvantaged students in the district and receives $120,000 annually in a grant to fund all-day, everyday kindergarten. If Harrison is closed, the district no longer receives that funding, he said.
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Ruth Gmeinder, Brainerd School Board member and Finance Committee member, wiped away tears after making the recommendation at Thursday's Finance Committee meeting that Whittier and Lincoln elementary schools be closed by the end of the school year and the Minnesota Learning Center be relocated to Lincoln School next fall.
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Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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Walseth said relocating the Minnesota Learning Center to Lincoln from the Brainerd Regional Human Services Center eliminates the need to transport several MLC students to Brainerd High School to attend classes. The move would save district taxpayers $138,000 annually in a lease the district has with the state for the MLC. That money is levied on local property taxes so it would be a benefit to taxpayers and not necessarily a cost savings for the district. The district would need to use about $150,000 out of its capital fund in order to remodel Lincoln School before the MLC was relocated there. Walseth noted that educational taxes have dropped this year by about 5.6-5.8 percent and this will be another chance to reduce that amount starting next year.
If the district retained the MLC at the former state hospital campus, the district would be forced to pay about $1 million in remodeling costs to upgrade the facility to state fire marshal standards.
Board member Ruth Nelson said she has received calls from parents who have safety concerns about MLC students being located so close to the high school.
"They are wonderful, wonderful people but they have high needs," Walseth said of MLC students, who come from the district and other neighboring districts. "We have a safety concern for all our kids, including our MLC kids. We will continue to do the very best we can do in the interest of our kids. We monitor that program very well. A number of those kids participate in programs at the high school."
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Heather Becker, a parent of a Lincoln Elementary School student, was tearful as she clutched a "Lincoln Loggers" teddy bear, a school fundraising gift, and watched school board members discuss the closure of Lincoln Elementary School at Thursday's Brainerd School Board Finance Committee meeting. Becker's son, Conner, is a kindergartner at Lincoln.
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Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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Walseth said Whittier School doesn't meet the space requirements of 32,000 square feet to house the MLC. He said Whittier could be reopened in the future and may need to be since kindergarten classes in the district are increasing. Whittier is the smallest of the district's eight elementary schools and will allow the district to transfer out fewer students into other classrooms in the district and therefore raise class sizes the least amount possible, said Walseth.
Walseth said administration is not making a recommendation at this time to sell or dispose of Whittier school. The kindergarten enrollment numbers are growing and the school will be needed to handle growth in those upcoming classes, he said. He said they don't want to keep Whittier vacant, however, and challenged the community to think of a reuse for the building in the interim until the district reopens it or a permanent reuse is found to save the structure. The district has to continue heating and maintaining the building so it doesn't deteriorate.
Walseth said the political pressure from Nisswa community members, many of whom attended Thursday's meeting, did not sway his decision not to close Nisswa school. He said Nisswa has an updated air and cooling system and the building can handle additional students.
"This is a very painful thing for all of us," board member and finance chair Bob Nystrom said before the committee voted on the school closures. Nystrom is a third-generation Lincoln Elementary School student. "I never dreamed I would be in this position. It's one of the most painful things I will have gone through."
Several parents in the audience also wiped tears from their eyes when the recommendation was made.
Heather Becker clutched a small "Lincoln Logger" teddy bear, a parent-teacher organization fundraising item she got earlier this fall from Lincoln Elementary School. Becker's son, Conner, is a kindergartner at Lincoln.
"I just wanted to see what the reasonings were for Lincoln," Becker said tearfully following the committee action. "After getting the letter I wanted to know why Lincoln was chosen. I'm here to show my support for Lincoln and my son."
"It's kind of like going to a funeral," said Kathleen Hermerding, who also wiped away tears at the meeting and whose six children have attended or are enrolled at Whittier School. "It's going to a funeral for my school."
The district is required to conduct public hearings before the school board can take action and officially close the schools. No dates have been set for the public hearings. The final school board action for these school closures will be scheduled for the Jan. 14 school board meeting.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at 855-5858 or jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com.
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