[Speed Gibson,
Friday January 25, 2008 at 11:59pm]
On Tour
I didn't post between Sunday and today, but I have been out and about on "Project 281." Just to remind everyone, my goal is not "get" someone or pile on the known troubles with our public school system. I'm just trying to understand the great mystery that is their finances, and maybe along the way, help the 281 folks see things from the outside better.
I've been to two neighboring districts, to see what the Open Enrollment situation is, should Northport Elementary close after the 2008-09 school year as seems almost certain. I have meetings coming up next week with other public officials next week, and I'm continuing to study the growing amount of financial data I've collected. Let me add that the District has been fully open and helpful to date.
I'm getting the impression so far that the Robbinsdale schools never really planned for the baby boom to fizzle out. They peaked at about 28,000 students around 1970, now just under 13,000 today and still falling as the area continues to mature. That's not the fault of the current administration, but it does explain much of the difficulty it now faces, including the east-west divide.
Winnetka Elementary was built in 1967 and closed just 11 years later. Crystal Heights Elementary was closed in 1982 after just 17 years of operation. Olson Elementary was built in 1971 and lasted only 9 years, though it has been partially used since 2000.
The example most remembered in the east is the closing of the Robbinsdale High School in 1982, just 12 years after opening Armstrong High School in the west in 1970. Many think that building Cooper High School in the middle of the district in 1964 was the real miscalculation.
To be fair, the needs of the 1960's were immediate and while those in charge then probably knew enrollment was peaking, I suspect few knew just how far and how fast, not to mention the demographic shifts. But that was yesterday. The current demographic trends are well understood now, enough to build a more strategic facilities plan and a roadmap to get there.
As I said, this is an impression. Regardless, I don't want second-guess past decisions. We do have an immediate, awkward problem of an aging school in an older neighborhood, with no good way to redistribute its student population should it have to close for financial reasons.
I've been to two neighboring districts, to see what the Open Enrollment situation is, should Northport Elementary close after the 2008-09 school year as seems almost certain. I have meetings coming up next week with other public officials next week, and I'm continuing to study the growing amount of financial data I've collected. Let me add that the District has been fully open and helpful to date.
I'm getting the impression so far that the Robbinsdale schools never really planned for the baby boom to fizzle out. They peaked at about 28,000 students around 1970, now just under 13,000 today and still falling as the area continues to mature. That's not the fault of the current administration, but it does explain much of the difficulty it now faces, including the east-west divide.
Winnetka Elementary was built in 1967 and closed just 11 years later. Crystal Heights Elementary was closed in 1982 after just 17 years of operation. Olson Elementary was built in 1971 and lasted only 9 years, though it has been partially used since 2000.
The example most remembered in the east is the closing of the Robbinsdale High School in 1982, just 12 years after opening Armstrong High School in the west in 1970. Many think that building Cooper High School in the middle of the district in 1964 was the real miscalculation.
To be fair, the needs of the 1960's were immediate and while those in charge then probably knew enrollment was peaking, I suspect few knew just how far and how fast, not to mention the demographic shifts. But that was yesterday. The current demographic trends are well understood now, enough to build a more strategic facilities plan and a roadmap to get there.
As I said, this is an impression. Regardless, I don't want second-guess past decisions. We do have an immediate, awkward problem of an aging school in an older neighborhood, with no good way to redistribute its student population should it have to close for financial reasons.