Brainerd School Board: Solutions presented for space issues at Nisswa Elementary

The Brainerd School Board Monday night discussed three possible solutions for space issues at Nisswa Elementary School.
The classrooms at the school are bursting to the seams with students, principal Molly Raske said, and each room serves multiple purposes in order to maximize the available space. Raske and Cori Reynolds, director of community education for the district, led the board through a presentation of the building’s space struggles and a few options to alleviate them.
Two of the options involved the addition of four modular, temporary classrooms to the school. The third option involved the addition of five new permanent classrooms, similar to the addition completed in September of 2015 at Riverside Elementary School. Board members agreed in their preference for a permanent addition as opposed to modular classrooms.
In the end, the board tabled action on the Nisswa request until the district starts implementing the comprehensive long-range facilities plan. The board has already sought quotes from outside consulting firms to guide the district through the next phases of the project process. The board could act on those proposals at its February meeting, meaning the district could have a better idea of how to proceed with the plan later this spring, Superintendent Laine Larson said.
“We’re all in agreement that you need those classrooms,” board chair Bob Nystrom said. “We need to do it right, and there might be some other issues to address at Nisswa.”
Space issues
Space is an issue for all the elementary schools, Reynolds said, and is driven by a lack of space for early childhood education. There are 30 slots in the school readiness program in Nisswa and at the start of the 2016-17 school year, each slot was filled and 21 more students were on the waiting list.
There are two or three sections of each grade level at Nisswa, Raske said, and class sizes range from 23-28 students. It would be helpful to add a section in a grade level where class sizes are increasing, she said, but there’s simply no room to add another section at the school. The former computer lab is now a book storage room which is also used for special education and a space for students to calm down.
“Every single part of this school is maximized,” Raske said. “I’ve done everything that I feel I can as an administrator to maximize my space.”
The growing student population in Nisswa isn’t a bubble, Reynolds said, and is a sign of things to come in the area.
“Going forward, I think we’re going to have more enrollment in this area,” Raske said.
Two of the solutions presented for the addition of four modular classrooms would be five-year leases. One lease option carried a total estimated cost of $675,000 over five years, while the other lease option carried an estimated cost of $590,000 over five years, said Steve Lund, director of business services. The second lease option would be a lease to own option, where the district would own the modular classrooms after the lease ran out. Both options would be ready for the start of the 2017-18 school year.
The option to construct five new classrooms carried an estimated cost of $2.3 million, paid over 15 years. Adding new classroom space puts more stress on the building’s shared, core spaces, like the gymnasium and cafeteria, Lund said. The school’s cafeteria would be able to handle the higher numbers, he said, while the gymnasium’s capacity would be exceeded. The permanent construction option would be finished by the middle of the 2017-18 school year, or later.
The three options Reynolds and Raske presented considered the district’s comprehensive long-range facilities plan, Reynolds said, and the plan’s outline for additions to the school. Each elementary school has space issues, Reynolds said, but the difference is there’s room to expand in Nisswa.
Adding classroom space doesn’t address the need to improve on the building’s core spaces, Raske said, or add a secure entrance to the building. Both of these improvements were identified in the comprehensive long-range facilities plan.
Not ready to act
Principals shouldn’t have to come to the board to ask for more space to teach students, board member Tom Haglin said. It’s the board’s responsibility to provide them with the resources they need to be successful, he said, and space is one of those resources. Rushing into a modular, temporary solution isn’t the right move, though, he said, and he’d rather see the district invest in a long-term solution.
“Let’s look at the big picture,” Haglin said.
All the elementary schools have space issues, board member Sue Kern said, and she doesn’t want to play favorites by approving a solution for Nisswa when other schools have needs too.
“We can’t just fix one and leave the rest hanging,” Kern said.
The district just recently approved the comprehensive long-range facilities plan and just started the process of implementing the plan, Haglin said. There are many details still to be worked out, he said, but it could be possible to find a solution for Nisswa while the rest of the plan is implemented.
In other business, the board:
Accepted donations for the month of January totaling $4,518.
Retired district policy Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is replaced with Minnesota School Board Association policy 521 -- Student Disability Nondiscrimination.
Retired district policy Summer School, which is replaced with MSBA policy 508 -- Extended School Year for Certain Students with individualized education programs.
Retired district policy Summer Activity Funds Management, which is replaced with MSBA policy 511 -- Student Fundraising.
Retired district policy Student Attendance, which is replaced with MSBA policy 503 -- Student Attendance.
Retired district policy Penalties & Recommendations for Category I Activities, which is replaced with MSBA policy 510 -- Student Activities.
Retired district policy Guidelines for Control Implementation & Utilization of Adverser and Deprivation Procedures, which is replaced with MSBA policy 506 -- Student Discipline.
Retired district policy Cash in School Buildings, which is replaced with MSBA policy 511 -- Student Fundraising.
Retired district policy Payday Schedules, which has been replaced and is now determined by master contract agreements.
Retired district policy Fun’n’Friends - Child Care, which is outdated and covered with administrative protocols, procedures and guidelines.
Approved the following revised policies, due to MSBA and Minnesota Association of School Administrators updates: policy 611 -- Home Schooling and policy 614 -- School District Drug Testing Plan and Procedure.
Approved a contract with the Brainerd Dispatch for advertising rates for 2017.
Held the first reading of district policy 608 -- Instructional Services - Special Education.