Update: Lakeville Elementary School Closure Could Be On Fast-Track

Lakeville’s School Board told district administrators to look at fast-tracking the re-purposing of an elementary school as soon as next year, during the group’s work session on Tuesday night.

For most board members, they’re not ready to sign off on the plan that administrators say could save an additional $360,000 over the biennium, but simply want to know if its an option.

“With everything we have on the table, as I started thinking about it, I thought it was worth asking,” said Board member Kathy Lewis. “But there’s a lot that needs to be looked at first.”

The closure and re-purposing of an elementary school is just one part of a district administrators presented two weeks ago to bridge a $15.8 million deficit for the 2011-12 and 2012-2013 budget cycle. The and a slew of programs and activities.

But in that draft, the school closure was delayed until the 2012-2013 school year. Superintendent Gary Amoroso said he’s been asked, not only by the board, but by residents, if it was something that could be sped up to realize more savings.

“The simple answer is yes. It can be done. But there are, from our perspective, some consequences,” Amoroso said.

Tony Massaros, the district’s director of administrative services said staffing issues are one of the biggest factors. Determining which building would be closed, redistribution of staff and students, boundary changes and bus scheduled are all things that would need to be studied.

Amoroso said he would recommend those studies happen by March 1, which he called “aggressive.”

Don Sinner, president of the teacher’s union, Education Minnesota-Lakeville, said the timeline is a problem.

“To do this in a rushed fashion—suddenly (the board) is doing things to people, not for them,” he said. “This school district has always engaged the public on issues like this. If they rush forward with closing a school—it’s too sudden.”

But the district could save an additional $360,000 by moving the closure and re-purposing up a year, officials say. That would include the elimination of a principal, as well as support staff, custodians, and around five teaching positions.

But that number was in doubt among some on the board. Board member Jim Skelly said he didn’t understand why the additional savings only amounted to $360,000 when, if a school is re-purposed in 2012, it would save $750,000.

Board member Bob Erickson said he was ”mystified” by the numbers. Both he and Skelly said they expect to learn more about the scenario at Thursday’s work session.

Sinner said the figure comes from a lack in efficiency gained by doing it next year. He said district’s elementary school enrollment projections drop off in 2012 as children age and enter the middle schools.

“That doesn’t happen next year, so there are more kids in the elementary schools and staff will need to be retained to educate them,” he said.

The work session, held at ’s auditorium drew more than 150 people who were on hand to lobby the district to save programs that are an the chopping block, including high school debate, lacrosse, gymnastics and golf, as well as fifth grade band and middle school activities.

Mary Partida has a child in one of Lakeville’s middle schools and she said she’s concerned.

“We need to do things in a way that produce adults who can enter a global workforce,” she said. “But I’m concerned—I’m worried about the drastic cuts to academic programs.”

The board also tipped their hand to a degree, asking administrators to look at high school activities to make them cost neutral, thereby saving some of the activities that are poised to be eliminated.

The request comes after the high school gymnastics, debate, and lacrosse programs produced budget solutions to become cost neutral.

“I would really like to see us all get to cost neutral,” Board member Michelle Volk said. “Then we can keep all the activities.”

The school board made no mention of the budget draft Sinner and EML provided. They also decided to hold off on using more than $2 million in federal stimulus dollars as part of the solution, agreeing that it wasn’t a long-term answer. Those funds need to be used by the fall of 2012.

Finally, Skelly said he was vehemently opposed to changing the start times at the high schools to 7:15 a.m. when studies and sleep research have shown links to early start times and decreased achievement.

“We fought for years to get start time at the high schools to 8 a.m. and we did that based on solid research,” he said. “So we save money to have kids bused early, then spend more to catch them up when achievement drops off.”

The district projects a $495,000 savings by reducing nine routes and changing start times.

The next school board work session is at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 20, at Lakeville South High school. The board will make a final adoption of a budget adjustment plan on Feb. 8.