[Speed Gibson,
Friday October 19, 2007 at 12:33am]
Strategic Error
I've lived within the Robbinsdale School District since 1984. This district has a rich, proud history. My wife is one of its graduates, from the old Robbinsdale High School along Highway 100.
We were talking about the upcoming levy and how these were once a formality, easily winning voter approval. The explosion in costs, unimpressive academic performance, and lack of discipline have us all now very skeptical. In Robbinsdale's case, my wife points directly at the closing of her alma mater in 1982.
A little background: District 281 extends far beyond Robbinsdale, to Crystal, New Hope, plus portions of Golden Valley, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, and Plymouth. It expanded to two high schools with the addition of Cooper in 1964, and three high schools when Armstrong opened in 1970. Again, the original Robbinsdale school closed in 1982 amidst much controversy, even anger.
My wife's theory is that the roots of the old RHS school went deep into the surrounding area. These were the parents and families who made 281 great, only to see it move west and abandon them. They no longer have children in these schools and the current families' kids are bussed several miles. Much the same happened with junior high and elementary schools. This makes some sense, given the expansion of the whole area in new housing developments to the west.
But in the case of the high schools, maybe not. If the long term need was for two schools, why build three? Yes, the baby boom enrollments were huge. Some districts toughed it out, like mine in St. Louis Park. Others apparently used it to replace their old, "tired" schools by opening a second, then later closing the first. The new Edina West opened in 1972 and the old Edina (dubbed Edina East) closed in 1982, for example.
Getting back to 281, one could ask, why exactly was Cooper built? That question will draw sharp comments from the established east side residents. The alleged poor quality of its construction is still discussed. The truly strategic vision would have been to skip Cooper entirely, just build Armstrong to serve the west side. The enrollment bulge could have been handled.
It's decisions like these that explain why 281 has ten "learning centers" like the old high school. These are often under-utilized facilities left to placate the abandoned neighborhoods.In effect, at least some of this year's levy request will go to hang on to these marginally useful buildings.
I'll stipulate that the various school boards tried to do the right thing through all these years. But clearly some mistakes were made and it's time to acknowledge and resolve at least some of them.
The consequences of a NO vote are not severe as our NIGP documents. That will be my choice, hoping the district will have to deal with all of its realities.
We were talking about the upcoming levy and how these were once a formality, easily winning voter approval. The explosion in costs, unimpressive academic performance, and lack of discipline have us all now very skeptical. In Robbinsdale's case, my wife points directly at the closing of her alma mater in 1982.
A little background: District 281 extends far beyond Robbinsdale, to Crystal, New Hope, plus portions of Golden Valley, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, and Plymouth. It expanded to two high schools with the addition of Cooper in 1964, and three high schools when Armstrong opened in 1970. Again, the original Robbinsdale school closed in 1982 amidst much controversy, even anger.
My wife's theory is that the roots of the old RHS school went deep into the surrounding area. These were the parents and families who made 281 great, only to see it move west and abandon them. They no longer have children in these schools and the current families' kids are bussed several miles. Much the same happened with junior high and elementary schools. This makes some sense, given the expansion of the whole area in new housing developments to the west.
But in the case of the high schools, maybe not. If the long term need was for two schools, why build three? Yes, the baby boom enrollments were huge. Some districts toughed it out, like mine in St. Louis Park. Others apparently used it to replace their old, "tired" schools by opening a second, then later closing the first. The new Edina West opened in 1972 and the old Edina (dubbed Edina East) closed in 1982, for example.
Getting back to 281, one could ask, why exactly was Cooper built? That question will draw sharp comments from the established east side residents. The alleged poor quality of its construction is still discussed. The truly strategic vision would have been to skip Cooper entirely, just build Armstrong to serve the west side. The enrollment bulge could have been handled.
It's decisions like these that explain why 281 has ten "learning centers" like the old high school. These are often under-utilized facilities left to placate the abandoned neighborhoods.In effect, at least some of this year's levy request will go to hang on to these marginally useful buildings.
I'll stipulate that the various school boards tried to do the right thing through all these years. But clearly some mistakes were made and it's time to acknowledge and resolve at least some of them.
The consequences of a NO vote are not severe as our NIGP documents. That will be my choice, hoping the district will have to deal with all of its realities.