Howe and Folwell to reopen to serve growing student body
by Tesha M. Christensen
It’s a new day for Minneapolis Public Schools, according to Area B Parent Liaison Kristin Berg Thompson.
While a few years ago it was shuttering schools, now the district is reopening some and adding on to others in the northeast, south and southwest areas of the city.
At its Nov. 29, 2011 meeting, the Board of Education approved nearly all the pieces of a plan it had reviewed earlier that month to address increasing enrollment in the district.
Howe will be reopened in 2013-2014 to serve as a PreK-5 dual campus with Hiawatha Community School.
Additionally, Folwell will be reopened to house the Ramsey Arts Magnet School for the 2012-2013 school year. A new 6-8 middle school will be created in the Ramsey building for the Lyndale Elementary School and Burroughs Community School attendance areas.
Speaking on behalf of Area B, Berg Thompson stated that the area is excited to welcome Ramsey Arts Magnet. She pointed out that 70% of students who currently attend that school live closer to the Folwell site.
Melissa Erjavac is happy that the school board addressed the space problem before being in the throes of it. Her son is a second grader at Hiawatha. “I am happy that, with this decision, he will not be subjected to over-crowding,” she stated.
The district plans to use a variety of funds to pay for the changes.
Board member Hussein Samatar, who resides in Phillips neighborhood and serves on the finance committee, was the only one who voted against the changes. He explained that his nay vote wasn’t because he doesn’t want to see schools reopened or that he doesn’t think the district shouldn’t prepare for this growth. Samatar’s issues with the plan center around finances.
First, the estimates for reopening Howe ranged from between $2 to 4.6 million. Hussein wanted more solid numbers. In contrast, reopening Cooper, .7 miles away from Howe, would have been less (although that figure was never specified).
Additionally, the estimated cost to reopen Folwell is $9 million; Hussein said he wasn’t convinced that moving 1,000 students from Ramsey to Folwell was the best option academically for that pricetag.
“I know we don’t have the money to overspend,” Hussein stated.
Looking ahead, the district faces a structural deficit he believes will manifest itself in the next year or two. This will be a problem if the district maintains its current levels of spending (or increases it) without a corresponding increase in income.
Neighborhood resident Steve Warnke also questions why Cooper was not reopened, considering the various improvements made to the building before it was closed. “It would make more sense to use Cooper after the extensive amount of work put into it,” he stated.
Other neighborhood residents, such as Hilary Oppmann, expressed were delighted that Howe will be reopening.
“That is the best possible outcome,” Oppmann said. “It’s a beautiful building and good to have more school options in the neighborhood. MPS could never afford to build a building like Howe now, and I hated the idea that it might be torn down, losing the ability to ever use it again as a school, as well as possibly giving up that large public green space.”
Sarah Nassif has worked for six years to find a new use for the vacant Howe building. She heard the news it would be reopening as a school firsthand at the board meeting. “Wow,” she thought. “I can’t believe six years of work have finally paid off and we have our school back! Hooray!”
“I would like to thank Council Member Sandy Colvin Roy, the Longfellow Community Center staff, and Howe neighbors for volunteering such an incredible amount of time and expertise over the years to keep Howe a vital concern in our neighborhood,” Nassif said. “Together we raised awareness about a beautiful fixture in our neighborhood and saved it for ourselves and future residents to use and enjoy. That is a real impact we can be proud of.”
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