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Closures of Whittier and Lincoln OK'd
Staff Writer The Brainerd School Board on Monday unanimously approved proceeding with the closures of Whittier and Lincoln elementary schools.
While no plans have been presented for a possible future use of Whittier, school district officials have recommended Lincoln to be used to house the Minnesota Learning Center.
The board took no formal action Monday to close Whittier. By state statute a public hearing has to be held before a school is closed. The Whittier public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 19. The board's final vote on the school's closing is expected at its regular meeting Jan. 14.
Closing the schools will save the district about $500,000, according to school officials.
The recommendations to close Whittier and Lincoln were made at the school board's Nov. 29 finance committee meeting. At the meeting, Superintendent Jerry Walseth said Whittier doesn't meet the space requirements of 32,000 square feet to house the learning center. He said Whittier could be reopened in the future because kindergarten classes in the district are increasing. Whittier is the smallest of the district's eight elementary schools and it will allow the district to transfer out fewer students into other classrooms in the district.
The school board Monday also recommended proceeding with redrawing the boundaries of the six remaining elementary school to balance enrollment, eliminating the school of choice option and providing busing to students only if they live more than a mile from their school beginning with the 2008-09 school year.
Assistant Superintendent Steve Razidlo said the district will look at cost savings, school capacity, safety, the one-mile zone and other issues to minimize disruption for families.
In all, Razidlo said more than 1,000 students will be affected. The school's transportation officials are already working on an early draft, he added.
"This will be difficult," he said.
Board member Ruth Gmeinder said many people have concerns about the redrawing of school boundaries and hoped school officials would be open for comments at the listening sessions scheduled in the next two months, the first of which is 7 p.m. on Dec. 20 at Forestview Middle School. The draft boundary redrawing will be presented at that meeting, Razidlo said.
"I know there will be a lot more discussion," Gmeinder said. "When we talk about dislocating over 1,000 students it's tough to put a dollar figure on that."
Walseth said district officials also will review the possibility of grandfathering in students who already have their school of choice.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
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