[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: On Tour

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
On Tour
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1201327191.shtml


   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.