With enrollment continuing to decline, the school board is discussing the &uot;possibility&uot; of closing an Albert Lea school to students.

Monday, September 20, 1999

With enrollment continuing to decline, the school board is discussing the &uot;possibility&uot; of closing an Albert Lea school to students.

At this point, Superintendent David Prescott said the school board is only discussing the possibility of restructuring the district’s facilities, but at least one option does include closing a school.

&uot;We’re looking at the buildings and the number of classrooms we have,&uot; he said. &uot;We’re looking at ways for creative housing. We are looking at the possibility of reorganizing to align the district and staff with student enrollment.&uot;

He said the school board is planning to issue a press release about the possibility of restructuring sometime in October. The school board also hasn’t discussed any restructuring plans during its regular meetings.

Instead, the board has discussed restructuring during its school board retreat meetings. The last retreat was Sept. 9 at 6 a.m. and the next retreat is set for Tuesday at 6 a.m. in the district’s board room. The school board also meets tonight at 7 p.m. for its regular meeting in the board room.

Prescott said before the board would consider approving a school closing it would hold a series of public meetings to gather thoughts from the community. It would also work closely with district staff to consider all alternatives.

&uot;We’re trying not to upset parents and students,&uot; he said, adding the district has also informed its staff about the possible restructuring. &uot;The biggest question mark is still enrollment.&uot;

Since 1993, district enrollment has dropped by about 450 students, with earlier enrollment drops also reported. Because state aid formulas use average daily enrollment as a base, the enrollment decline represents a significant drop in funding.

An expected 100-student drop this year means about $500,000 in declining state aid.

&uot;We’re just studying it (restructuring),&uot; Prescott said, adding there are other options to closing a school. &uot;We will have an announcement in October.&uot;

There are also other factors that contribute to any restructuring, he said.

If the district does sell the entire current high school, the district offices would move to another facility, he said.

Community Education and special services would also likely move to the same facility.

The new high school was also designed for the possibility of housing the ninth-grade, he said, adding when the high school opens in the fall of 2000 it will, however, contain grades 10-12.

An approved restructuring could also move sixth-grade classrooms to the elementary schools, he said.

But the district is now trying to meet a state mandate for lower class sizes, limiting the amount of available space in the elementary schools.

&uot;One of the things that is complicating things for us is we’re also looking at ways for all-day kindergarten,&uot; he said.

&uot;That will take more space,&uot; he added.

While the board could close Brookside Middle School to student populations and use it for offices, the board also likes the middle school philosophy – pods, or &uot;schools within the school,&uot; he said.

If that school were to close, the board would likely open another middle school with a slight change in its grades in another existing building, he said.

&uot;It might not be such a big deal at all,&uot; he said of any restructuring. &uot;But still it’s a change. Probably most of the change will be within our staff.&uot;