When the Minnesota Department of Education endorses local school construction projects, it could do a better job of explaining its rationale to voters, the legislative auditor said in a report Thursday.
State law generally requires school districts to submit their construction plans to the state for a formal “review and comment,” which then gets discussed at a public school board meeting. The process is supposed to help voters weigh the merits of a project before deciding whether to back their district’s request to borrow money for it.
The legislative auditor — the state’s official nonpartisan watchdog — said the Department of Education has been doing what the law requires, but the information they provide isn’t all that helpful.
Over a three-year period, the department gave projects a “positive” finding 97 out of 98 times — allowing districts access to special state aid if they have low property values, and setting the bar for voter approval at 50 percent instead of 60 percent.
But those endorsements typically feature language provided by the districts, not an original analysis by the department.
“If it is unclear why the department determined that a project is (or is not) advisable, there may be little basis for discussion in a public meeting, and the department’s ratings may not help inform school district residents,” the report reads.
The auditor recommended a change in statute requiring the department to explain its ratings for each project.
In response, Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker agreed that a more detailed explanation would be “helpful” but said it would “require a significant amount of additional staff time.” She asked that lawmakers find money to pay for the improved process.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The auditor also recommended lawmakers change the law to require school districts to solicit public comment on its construction projects before the Department of Education weighs in.
Since 2017, the state has been required to include public comment in its reports. However, no one is required to proactively seek out those comments, and the auditor found that just four of 35 recent reports included input from the public.
Ricker isn’t waiting for legislation to respond to that recommendation. She said the department will update its instructions to encourage school districts to inform residents of their right to provide input.
The legislative auditor’s review originated with a May complaint brought by residents of the Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert school districts, who opposed plans for a joint high school and two elementary schools. Ricker gave the projects a positive rating in April, and voters in both districts gave their approval three weeks later.
St. Paul and three other school districts with special taxing authority don’t have to submit to the review and comment process when they borrow for construction projects.
Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities will be closing its Ober Community Center at the end of the year in an effort to refocus its resources on residential services, the nonprofit announced Friday in a press release.
The Center, at 376 Western Ave. in St. Paul, opened in 1940 as a Boys Club to serve the children of the Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods. In the 1960s, the Center lost most of its property to the construction of Interstate 94, which also displaced many of the families that used the facility.
The Boys and Girls Club ran the center in the 1980s and 1990s, and the Salvation Army used it for youth programs in the 1990s and early 2000s. The Mission implemented its own programs in 2005, providing summer opportunities for kids to develop new skills and be mentored in a safe environment.
“We are transitioning the youth we serve at Ober to programs that will continue to give them the tools and support they need to be successful,” said Mission CEO Charles Morgan.
He said the Mission is financially strong, and that closing the Ober center is part of a strategic plan to put a greater emphasis on its residential offerings through improvements in staffing, facilities and infrastructure in order to take a more holistic approach to homelessness.
He cited mental health services as a growing need at its other centers, as well as adding to its chaplaincy program, offering optometry care, fitness and nutrition classes and adding on to existing facilities.
A rural southwestern Minnesota town deeply divided over immigration narrowly voted Tuesday to pay for an expansion of its overcrowded school system, ending a streak of five failed referendums in as many years.
The $34 million bond measure — part of which passed by just 19 votes — was a victory for Worthington school officials and immigration advocates, who had complained that some white residents were reluctant to fund new classrooms to accommodate hundreds of immigrant children. Many of those students are unacommpanied minors from Central America, who crossed the border on their own and are living with relatives while their cases wind through backlogged immigration courts.
“I hope this will heal some of the divisions,” said Lisa Kremer, a local immigrants’ rights activist. “But I don’t anticipate that it will make our problems go away, as far as racism and bias towards immigrants.”
Worthington drew national attention in September after a story in the Washington Post featured a local bus driver who objects to the presence of the undocumented children he delivers to school and helped lead the opposition to the referendums.
After the article was published, the man faced calls for him to be fired.
More than a thousand miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, the town of 13,000 nonetheless finds itself at the center of a national debate on immigration.
Since fall 2013, more than 270,000 children — most from Central America — have crossed the southwestern frontier without a parent and then been released to relatives in the United States as they wait for immigration hearings.
Many of these unaccompanied minors ended up in large cities, such Los Angeles, Houston or the Washington area. Thousands more, however, have ended up in small towns where their impact is dramatic.
Worthington has received more of these unaccompanied minors per capita than almost anywhere in the country, according to data from the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
The arrival of more than 400 unaccompanied minors in the past six years has helped swell Worthington’s student population by almost one-third, forcing administrators to convert storage space into classrooms and leaving teachers without classrooms.
As the schools struggled, the town wrestled with how to treat the new arrivals. Advocates donated food and clothes and volunteered to drive unaccompanied minors to their court hearings, three hours away. But a Catholic priest who voiced support for the immigrants was booed from the pews and received death threats.
Five times since fall 2013, voters in Nobles County were asked to expand the school system. “Yes” and “No” signs sprang up across town. Next-door neighbors stopped speaking because of the issue. And some locals even boycotted businesses that had taken sides.
Five times, the referendums failed, including by just 17 votes in February.
On Tuesday, the margins flipped.
While 52 percent supported building a new school for third through fifth grades for $27 million, a second question over an additional $7 million won approval by 19 votes out of more than 3,400 ballots cast. A third question related to refinancing bonds also passed.
Jane Turpin Moore, a local freelance journalist, said the atmosphere ahead of the referendum had been different this time around.
“The negative voices were muffled if not drowned out by the more positive tone,” she said, noting that there were far more “Yes” signs. A small group of teenagers had hung around Worthington’s single polling center on Tuesday night, celebrating when the results were read out at about 9 p.m.
“When they heard that all three questions passed, they were jumping up and down and cheering,” she said, citing a poll worker. “That was unusual.”
“I’m just very relieved,” said Kremer, the immigrant-rights advocate, adding that many of her Vote Yes friends were “ecstatic.”
Schools Superintendent John Landgaard, who had been stung by the controversy, said he hoped the referendum’s success would help the town turn a page.
“I think it’s the first step in trying to get things back on track,” he said. The result showed, he said, “that the community is willing to support kids’ education, no matter where you come from.”
Dan Van Hove, a Worthington resident who voted “yes” on the referendum, said the result showed “the real Worthington … hard-working people just trying to make their community a better place.”
But David Bosma, a truck driver who is chairman of the Worthington Citizens for Progress Committee — the group that opposed the referendums — said he felt Tuesday’s results would only deepen the town’s problems.
“I think the new school is going to compound and increase the issues that are going on with minor immigrant children being placed here,” he said.
Bosma said his main concern was the welfare of unaccompanied minors, many of whom are smuggled all the way to Worthington and are vulnerable to exploitation.
“There is honest-to-God human trafficking that is being perpetrated, with our city as a hub,” he said. “The bad situations that a lot of these kids are going through … are only going to increase.”
Mayor Mike Kuhle disputed that idea.
“It’s good for our community to get this passed,” he said. But he agreed that the country’s immigration system was broken, and said Washington had abandoned places like Worthington.
“A lot of it is beyond our control,” he said. “We need a secure border, but we also need a clear, better, faster pathway to citizenship. The whole immigration system needs to be fixed, but the federal government … is not getting it done.”
Until it does, he said, tensions over immigration in Worthington weren’t going away.
“It only passed by 19 votes,” he said of the referendum. “The division is still there.”
Carleton College says an alum has offered up $5 million toward scholarships for underrepresented students.
The gift from physicist David Ignat and wife Eleanor will match commitments of at least $50,000 toward new or existing endowed scholarships that give preference to first-generation students or those who are Pell Grant-eligible or come from low-income families.
Fundraising at the Northfield private school has totaled around $363 million in the last four years.
Their $400 million, “Every Carl for Carleton” campaign goal includes $150 million in aid for students from low- and moderate-income families.
The Board of Regents in a special meeting Thursday unanimously approved hefty raises for the coaches of the University of Minnesota’s unbeaten football team.
The contract replaces a five-year, $18.5 million deal.
His first contract with the team, in 2017, totaled $18 million over five years. After each of his first two years, he received one-year extensions with $50,000 raises.
But the team’s improvement in the classroom, in the community and especially on the field — the Gophers are 9-0 for the first time since 1904, when a local high school team was on the schedule — earned Fleck a million-dollar raise this time around.
He’ll make at least $4.6 million next year.
“As Coach Fleck would say, we are elite, and we need to act that way and ultimately compensate that way,” President Joan Gabel said Thursday, adding, “it isn’t cheap to do it this way.”
At the same time, regents authorized Fleck to spend an extra $1.05 million for assistant coaches and other team staff next year, then $200,000 more in 2021.
Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca’s new salary will be $1 million, up from $710,000 this year. Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi will make $625,000, up from $400,000.
“There’s no doubt that keeping these two individuals, along with Coach Fleck and the rest of our staff, is important as we continue to build our program,” Athletics Director Mark Coyle said.
Fleck’s old contract called for him to pay the U $1 million for each year left on his contract if he were to leave early for another job.
His new deal has a $10 million buyout next year that steps down to $4.5 million in year 2 and $3 million in both 2022 and 2023.
“We think that hopefully keeps P.J. in place,” Coyle said.
The U must pay Fleck 65 percent of what’s left on his contract if it fires him before the deal expires. That’s roughly equivalent to his old termination fee, although the structure is different.
The new money brings the U to eighth in the 14-school Big Ten in terms of both its head coach and assistant coach compensation, according to materials presented to the regents.
City, county and school district officials said Friday they aim to have in place a full school zone — along with reduced speeds — on a stretch of Diffley Road in Eagan by the time students return from their holiday break in early January.
The announcement comes two weeks after 13-year-old Patric Vitek was fatally struck by a car while riding his bicycle and trying to cross Diffley Road on his way to school. The boy’s Nov. 1 death sparked passionate pleas by residents who told city council members and Dakota County commissioners that safety improvements to the busy four-lane road are long overdue.
Patric Vitek, who was a seventh-grader at Dakota Hills Middle School. (Courtesy photo)
While the county said it will gather input on safety improvements at a Dec. 11 open house, the pleas showed “enough public support to seek an immediate start on the approval process for full school zone and speed reductions.”
Completing a full school zone change within the desired time frame will require cooperation among and support from the Eagan City Council, Dakota County Board of Commissioners and the ISD 196 School Board, the county said.
Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire, Dakota County commissioners Tom Egan and Joe Atkins and school district Superintendent Mary Kreger will lead the effort to “secure necessary approvals from each of their respective elected bodies,” the county said.
Vitek died of injuries caused when a car driven by a 33-year-old woman hit the back tire of the boy’s bike just west of Daniel Drive. Vitek was headed to Dakota Hills Middle School, where he was a seventh-grader. It was his 13th birthday.
Residents say the county road is without a safe crosswalk and that the 45 mph speed limit is too high for a road that serves as many as 3,700 students of Northview Elementary School, Dakota Hills Middle School and adjoining Eagan High School.
According to Dakota County, Diffley Road adjacent to the three schools is a designated school zone, but a school zone speed limit cannot be established there as it stands now because a state-required “school route safety plan” is not in place. That’s because the school district has designated all arterial roadways in the district, including Diffley Road, as “hazardous crossings,” the county said.
As a result, instead of walking routes and crossing locations that would be established in a plan, the school district provides busing for students south of Diffley Road, the county said.
The Dec. 11 open house will provide a number of potential safety improvements, including longer-term options, for neighbors and parents to review and weigh in on. Longer-term safety improvements are expected to be selected by March 1.
“Education and communication with students and parents is a key part of improving safety along this challenging stretch of roadway,” the county added.
Macalester College president Brian Rosenberg is asking the board of trustees to remove the private St. Paul school founder’s name from a campus building over concerns about his racist and sexist views in the 1800s.
Macalester College President Brian Rosenberg (David J. Turner / Macalester College)
According to the college’s student newspaper, “The Mac Weekly,” Rosenberg announced his recommendation to rename the Edward Duffield Neill building at a Tuesday faculty meeting. The Humanities Building was named Neill Hall in 2013 to eliminate confusion since many of the humanities classes were actually taught in another building, the paper said.
Neill was chosen for his legacy as secretary to American presidents and founder of the college in 1874 and because there were no other buildings named after him.
Rosenberg’s decision came two weeks after the student newspaper published a special issue titled “Colonial Macalester” citing examples of derogatory comments Neill made about American Indians in his writings and calling Neill “a white supremacist and eager participant in the settler-colonization of Minnesota.”
Rosenberg, who earlier announced he would be leaving his post in May, told the Weekly that he expected a decision from the board “very soon” and a plan to outline the process of changing the name.
Just in time for Thanksgiving, we’ve gathered responses from local first-graders on what they’re thankful for. The submissions are filled with infinite spellings of the word “family,” appreciation for teachers, friends, and schools, gratefulness for good food, gratitude for former family pets, and a whole lot of love for nature. We’d like to share just a sample of the hundreds of submissions we received, in hope that you can take a cue from these 6 and 7-year-olds and reflect on what you are thankful for this holiday season.
“I’m thankful for scientists because they help us discover things.” — Oliver, St. Thomas More Catholic School, St. Paul
“I am thankful for my five senses because they help me do things like help me explore the world.” — Audrey, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I’m thankful for my nose because it lets me smell yummy things.” — Henry, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I’m thagnklful for teachers because they help me learn.” — Yesenia, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for Mrs. Kemna because I like that she teaches me.” — Jamie, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I’m thankful for my mom because she made me.” — Tommy, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I’m thankful for school because I can learn in it.” — Ellie, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for games because they can move.” — Sofohias, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful fur God because without him we would not be alive.” — Will, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for my mom and dad because they give me company.” — August, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for people who are kind because they help others.” — Ulises, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for my dog because when I am sad she licks me.” — Frank, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for the animals because they are sweet.” — Rowan, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for my neighbors because when I do not have anyone to play with they play with me.” — Patrick, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for my family and dogs. Dogs are so good.” — Santi, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for water because it keeps us alive.” — Fritz, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for my family and cats.” — Magnolia, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for lambs because they are very soft and cute.” — Olivia, St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for our savior because he is our savior.” — Charlie S., St. Thomas More Catholic School
“I am thankful for my uncle Paddy getting better because he was sick.” — Nora C., St. Thomas More Catholic School
Kelsey, age 6, Pine Bend Elementary, Inver Grove Heights
“I am thankful for Minnesota because we have loons.” — Kelsey, 6, Pine Bend Elementary, Inver Grove Heights
“I am thankful for Nature because I love flowers and lady bugs and rabbits.” — Ikhra, 7, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for being free. I can pick my own things.” — Emma, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for my friends.” — Ava, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for the flag because it stands for America.” — Cameron, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for my grandma’s masshed potatoes because they are delicious.” — Mellea, 7, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for teachers because they help me learn. My mom is a teacher too.” — Giana, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for my school because this year I have a locker.” — Samantha, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom because we go for walks together.” — Merari, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for my dad because we are hunting partners.” — Greyson, 7, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for my fish because it looked like Dory.” — Rowan, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for riding my dirt bike. I’ve been riding since I was five.” — Dominic, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for macaroni and cheese.” — Gavin, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because they love me.” — Crew, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for my brother because he plays tag with me.” — Blake, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for famaley beckus they keep me safe.” — Halleigh, 7, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for eatin turkey because it smells good.” — Georgie, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for… TV becuse I can watch Youtube.” — Coleden, 7, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for ham and cheese sandwiches. I like them more than turkey.” — Lavender, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for my birthday because I get to have a party with my friends.” — Philip, 7, Pine Bend Elementary
Freya, age 6, Pine Bend Elementary, Inver Grove Heights
“I am thankful for… cleaning my room so I don’t step on my toys.” — Freya, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for trees because they help us breathe.” — Will, 6, Pine Bend Elementary
“I am thankful for my home.” — Abby, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School, Oakdale
“I am thankfol for blades.” — Cooper, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful fare my parents.” — Leo, 7, Transfiguration Catholic School
“Thankful because run.” — Ryan, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School
“God is the best.” — Jonathan, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful for God.” — George, 7, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I like to have friends.” — Tyden, 7, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful for Hoverboard.” — Harvey, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful for food because Et is Sogot.” — Alexander, 7, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful for the earth.” — Charlotte, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful that I am flexible and for food.” — Marie, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful that ther iz a school cus I can lrn.” — Cora, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful for my parents.” — Sharon, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful god and mi to play if god to plag in yoy paugan.” — Fiora, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful for my toys because there fun.” — Anna, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful for my legs because I can do The splits.” — Katherine, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful for thanksgiven.” — Dylan, 7, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful for my family.” — Luella, 6, Transfiguration Catholic School
“I am thankful for my dog Zoe. She was my buddy. I love my dog she is a baby. I wish she could be alive. I love Zoe. She was my buddy.” — Keira, 6, Pine Hill Elementary, Cottage Grove
“I am thankful for my baby brother Seth and grandma! She reads me stories. My brother chases me around the island, and we play hide and seek too!” — Eva, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my friends. When I need help my friends are there to help me. Their names are Lily and Ellie.” — Adriana, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for churches. I like to learn about Jesus and Mary. I go with my family and I go too.” — Bennett, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for Pine Hill. I like how there are lots of friends! We play on the monkey bars! We have fun on the monkey bars together!” — Hayat, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thgnkful for my cousin. I like that Oliver helps me and Cooper hugs me goodbye.” — Harper, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my whole family. I like to play gymnastics with my cousin. Her name is Bakria. We bake cupcakes and to arts and crafts.” — Ellie, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my aunt because she takes me to the water parkc. We have a lot of fun. We play in the waves. We ate a lollipop.” — Damaris, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my frog that died. I love my frog and her name is Crystal. I found her in my backyard.” — Evelyn, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I’m thankful for my dog who died. His name was Tux. He was special to my family. He was a boy.” — Nolan, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am Thankful for my little sister. I love my little sister because she plays video games with me. Her name is Anna.” — John, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for books because there are a loot of funny pagees. I read lot of funny books.” — Nicholas, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
Emmett, age 7, Pine Hill Elementary, Cottage Grove
“I am thankful for my fish who died. I like that Finny was so nice. I miss him!” — Emmett, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my grandpa. I liked when he helped me catch big fish. He helped me put bait on the hook.” — Max, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
Aria, age 6, Pine Hill Elementary, Cottage Grove
“I am thankful for my brother. His name is Louis. He cheers me up when I am sad. I like my brother. I like when he does that. He is the best brother in the world.” — Aria, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my cat. I like when my cat Wilber plays with me.” — Zach, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my family. I like when my family takes me to hotels with a waterpark. I like how my family keeps me safe and helps me. I like how respectful they are to me.” — Grant, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom because when I am feeling sad she cuddles me. She mad me my favorite food.” — Hailey, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I’m thankful for firefighters. They help u in a fire. My mom makes me feel safe.” — Mayzie, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my dad because he is fun when he plays with me.” — Luke, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for mom. She cuddles me when go to sleep.” — Kylie, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my little sister because she is cute.” — Ana, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankfol for my mom dad famile and friends. We are happy together.” — Brayden, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am tholnk for my mom. She calls me to help her look for her phone.” — Jonah, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am Thankful for doctors and school! I am thankful for hard work!” — Easton, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for Milnia. She plays hide and seek with me.” — Bentley, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“Im thankful for wind because I can breathe!” — Leightyn, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom. I like when she cuddles with me.” — Alex, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my family and friends. They help me feel at home!” — Maya, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my little sister! She sleeps when it is nap time.” — Emmalyn, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my sister becausa she plays video games with me.” — Bennet, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for playing in snow. It is fun I also like cats and dogs!” — AnNista, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I’m thanksful for baby siste and for my classmates because they make me happy thankful for my family.” — Ayman, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“Im thankful for my sitrs because i pickup are tous because I has to my sitrs.” — Leyna, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I’m thankful for my dog because I aowes feed him everyday. I fed my cats too! I love cats.” — Leticia, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I’m thankful for helping othrs because someone was sitting on the budy binch.” — Gus, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom because I love my mom.” — Mustiv, 5, Pine Hill Elementary
“I’m thankful for my familie because they’re nice.” — Kaleb, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my brother because he hlps me.” — Declan, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I’m thankful for my family because they are nice.” — Stephen, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I’m thankful for my family because my family is nice.” — Yusuf, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because I love them.” — Lily, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for turkey. Because I lik to eaat it.” — Cooper, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I’m thankful for if somebody to get hurt I will bring them to Mr. Chris that is helpful.” — Alaya, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom and dad and yugr sister. Because I love them.” — Isla, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I’m thankful for helping cach other because it is good and helpful.” — Evelyn, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for dairy farmers because they help us have our dairy breakfast.” — Anthony, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for saving a dog.” — Landyn, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my sister.” — Mackenzie, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for playing Nintendo because it is fun.” — Cody, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful far my famlyle because they help me. My mom feeds me and my brother Mason.” — Kailyn, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for dogs because they are cute and fluffy.” — Andrew, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for being in class because I like being in class because I have the best teacher.” — Devin, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for play soccer. I like Wren. I play with my team.” — Rebecca, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom because I love her.” — Mia, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom and dad because they keep me healthy and strong. I am thankful for my mom and dad they are kind to me.” — Neria, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for cool math because it is cool and has cool games.” — Caden, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my friends because when I am sad they help me feel better.” — Clara, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for that I am kind and I help others because it is kind to help others.” — Gwendolyn, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because they take care of us.” — Harper, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for all of my family because Iove them.” — Nakoa, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for the world because it helps us by giving us water.” — Wyatt, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my teacher because he always helps us learn.” — Maralyn, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for trees because they give us air.” — Aidan, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thounkful for my family because they make me Happy.” — Fenet, 6, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom letting me go to my friends birthday party because we are going to watch a movie and have cake.” — Anthony, 7, Pine Hill Elementary
“I am thankful for God because he mad us. I love him so much.” — Zayam, 6, Somerset Elementary, Mendota Heights
“I am thankful for scool because they teach you math.” — Julian, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for dogs because they are fun.” — Henry, 6, Somerset Elementary
Maya, age 6, Somerset Heights Elementary School, Mendota Heights
“I am thankful for my mom and dad because they are nice. They give me hugs. I love my mom and dad.” — Maya, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom and dad because they are nis and they build me a billt.” — Klolett, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom and dad. Because they are nice are good.” — Max, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for doing choz for my momma because I like doing choz.” — Elsa, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom and dad because my mom and my dad let me go to Trget.” — Alex, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for thanksgiving because you can have thur.” — Christian, 7, Somerset Elementary
“I am thenkful for snow. Because you ken sled.” — Avery, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for God and Jesus because God created space and help the wold. Jesus can help ded people.” — Aya, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom and dad because I was born from my mom.” — Calvin, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for trees. They let us breathe.” — Greta, 7, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for family because it is big.” — Orion, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my pets and mama and Daddy because thay are kind too me.” — Tabitha, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for Pandas because they are cute & cudley.” — Sienna, 7, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom and dad. They love me!” — Cecilia, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because I love them and my sister because my sister always plays with me.” — Gigi, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thacfol for trees becuse they giv us ocsein and papre and they bret wut we brethe.” — Mateo, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for anumoolse because I love them.” — Anna, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my brother because I like to plae with him.” — Matt, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for god because he gave us trees and tree help us breeth.” — Ana, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for meet becauze if we wont have it we will not suvive!” — Gavin, Somerset Elementary
“I am six and i am thankful for hamsters. Because they are cute and fluffy.” — Delilah, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for cats because you can pet them! And walk them to!” — Emma, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for dogs because they are so cute. My dogs name is Evee.” — Britta, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for God because he goves us everthing to be alive.” — Molly, 7, Somerset Elementary
“I phoacefl for evrebudy and evry prsin and the hul wruld and me.” — Everett, 7, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for basketball because I play it.” — Rasna, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for flowers and bees. It is fun it.” — Dawson, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for chrees because if there waseent no chrees then we cadeent Breeth.” — Eli, 6, Somerset Elementary
“God gave us everything. He is a Hero.” — Evan, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for God. He gives us everything for the world.” — Amena, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for dogs because you can teche them to do tricks.” — Eloise, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I lik frons [friends] because if you were lost and you ken not find your kood not find no wun. You r lost.” — Soren, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for the ocean be cuz you code swim with dolfins and sharks and fis.” — Alex, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for anmls. Because woe git foood.” — Nora, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom and dad because they bought my cat and dog. I like my cat and my dog.” — Corinne, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my fmle because they biy me toys.” — A.J., 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because they are nice and they are funny.” — Afton, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because they support my life.” — Jovie, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I’m thankful for mr. Okeere.” — Freya, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my family thay are the best.” — Fabiola, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because they take care of me and give me food.” — Eloise, 6 and three quarters, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my sister because she is a good sister and is nice and fun.” — Henry, 7, Somerset Elementary
“I’m thankful for pokemon cards because they do a lot of damage and they can battle.” — Kash, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my family. They support my life.” — Evelyn, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my chicken because I play with it.” — Beah, 7, Somerset Elementary
Kiera, age 7, Somerset Heights Elementary, Mendota Heights
“I am thankful for myself because if I wasn’t alive I wouldn’t have enee thing to be thankful for.” — Kiera, 7, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for Pokemon because I have some good ones.” — Gus, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom because she takes me to lots of places. And she takes care of me. And she bise me lots of things.” — Istabraq, 7, Somerset Elementary
“I’m thankful for Jesus because he mad the wrold.” — William, 7, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for me daddy.” — Wyatt, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my birthday because my whole family came.” — Averi, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I’m thankful for school because I like to play with friends.” — Yaisa, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my family.” — Fin, 7, Somerset Elementary
“I love god because he made the world.” — Jackk, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for giving homlis pepl foud and sweders and muney,” — Jada, 6, Somerset Elementary
“I am thankful for my shoes because my feet stay warm outside and they help me run fast.” — Kenzie, 6, Woodbury Elementary, Woodbury
“I am thankful for sckool because I Lrne more.” — Ethan, 6, Eagle Point Elementary, Oakdale
“I am thankful for my famle because thir is love and kidnis in my famle and I love my famle.” — Myatong, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my family Because they give me love.” — Brooklynn, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for toys because Not evrye wah gets toys.” — Silas, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for the sun because it shines everything.” — Leyou, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for the libare because I luve libare!” — George, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for having frends because we git to play with them.” — Bennett, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for pats because my cat cutuls with me.” — Weston, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for shool because we can play and lern.” — Georgia, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for scool because my cllas makes me smile.” — Miles, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my school because I love my teacher so much.” — Madison, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom and dad because they love me.” — Sydney, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for playing because it makes me strog.” — Tyler, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my famley and my pets because I love them the end.” — Kylee, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for eating good stuff because it makes me big and strong.” — Aubrey, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my dog and family because they menae a lot to me.” — Bailey, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my famliy because I love theam and they love me.” — Stella, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because I love them!” — Cindy, 6 and a half, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my famley because vay giv me love.” — Bella, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my dog because she makes me warm.” — Brooks, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my pets because the acepe me wome.” — Stella, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my hous because it keeps me safe.” — Isla, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because they are always making me laf.” — Bella, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for the sun because it keeps me warm.” — Miles, “6 and a haph,” Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my dad and mom because bekuz dir are nis to me.” — Faith, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because thay love me.” — Brooklyn, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my helthy foods because it helps me grow and it makes me strog.” — Charlotte, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my famalee because thar the best.” — Jordyn, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for home because I love my hos.” — Brayden, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because I love them.” — Alexis, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my friends because taey make me want to lafe and smil. And taye be nich and kind to me.” — Gabbi, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my howse because it makes me feyas.” — Michael, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for dog cas bkuz I like.” — Austin, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful because my mom and dad caiar ubat me and my famulee.” — Ahmed, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my sister because she is nise.” — Mikaela, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my home because my home is the bist home because.” — Jonah, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for evryone because they make me smile.” — Owen, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for famle because it is my famle!” — Zoe, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for Ms. Linn because she helps me lern.” — Kashia, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for Mimi because I like her.” — Tyler, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for mom because she is niz.” — Malia, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my nabres because we eat tootketr.” — Matthew, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my sister because.” — Myles, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom because wat pake [water park].” — Kingston, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my famlley because thay giv me cady every day.” — Alex, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for witr because I like the kold.” — Zac, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for home pkus my pirns [parents] gave us a nu playground.” — Princeton, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thank ful for my famlley becauze they roe his to me.” — Sky’y, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for the sun because it ceps me warm.” — Carter, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my fammly because tha lov me.” — Liam, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for video gams because I like to play them.” — Fred, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for music because I love sig!” — Merry, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for jonine because he play with me.” — Landon, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for I am thank because I am nis to my sistare.” — London, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for scool because we lrn.” — Kingston, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for play my friends because it’s very by your naebhood.” — Sophia, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because thay are nis.” — Makayla, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my fet [feet] because I like my fet shron.” — Bode, 7, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for I love you mom because I see her at home.” — Abigail, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my cat because she is a cat and a littl cat.” — Zach, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for painting because I want to draw.” — Kyle, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my park because I love it.” — Aerial, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for our school because its good.” — Mason, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for flowrs because they mac more flowrs.” — Angela, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for pets farm because.” — Cathy, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for my school because we lrn at school.” — Calianna, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for holudas [holidays] because my famule gets to be tgethr.” — Ben, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
“I am thankful for estr because I get my beans and eegs.” — Avalie, 6, Eagle Point Elementary
Colin, age 7, Nativity of our Lord, St. Paul
“I am thankful for Renegade at Valleyfair! It is a very fun thrill ride! You must be 48 inches to ride it. (it goes 51 mph)” — Colin, 7, Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul
“I am thankful for rain because it helps plants grow.” — Noah, 6, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew, St. Paul
“I am thankful for flowers because there are many kinds.” — Kellan, 6, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thankful for ran because ran helps flowers.” — Eliana, 6, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thankful for nature because it is nis.” — Kayo, 6, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thankful for thanksgiving diner because it is gad.” — Michael, 6, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thankful for ponds because they are nices.” — Charlie, 6, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thankful for rain because I can play in it.” — Brody, 7, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thankful for love because I am loving.” — Emma, 6, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thankful for famiy because they love me.” — Auggie, 6, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thankful for cats because they play wit you.” — Tsion, 6, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thankful for people because they are good.” — Samuel, 6, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thankful for water because I like to drink water.” — Wyatt, 6, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thankful for Taco and Piwi because they are cute.” — Francis, 7, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thnkful for my fomily because they love me.” — Lauryn, 7, Maternity of Mary-St. Andrew
“I am thankful for God.” — Everly, 6, Holy Spirit School, St. Paul
“I am thankful family and my friends.” — Asanti, 6, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for God and Jesus.” — Luke, 6, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for mom.” — Magnus, 6, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for food and water.” — George, 6, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for God.” — Delaney, 6, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for God and Jesus.” – Piper, 7, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for dolfin and God.” — Laurel, 6, Holy Spirit School
“I am thank for horses.” — Mary, 6, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for God because he made me.” — Samuel, 7, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for trees because they help us breathe.” — Lucy, 6, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for God and Jesus because they made the world.” — Quinn, 6 and a half, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for my home because I have my blankies.” — Anna, 6, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for pets because they help you when you are sad.” — Eddie, 6, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for God because he is nice.” — Violet, 6, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for trees because they help us breathe.” — Hugo, 6, Holy Spirit School
“I am thankful for scool deause it helps me lrn. I like to read. I also like to write to my grandpa be cos it is pesfol.” — Gus, 6, Wildwood Elementary, Mahtomedi
“I am thankful for my famle because they keep me saf and they care about me evin my dog cares about me.” — Luca, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my techr because she helps me lrn. And she is nis.” — Brynn, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my house cat he does not scratch me ane mor. He is so nis I wont to shugl weth hem.” — Maloa, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful to Mom because she keps me safe and alive.” — Berit, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my famle because they care for me.” — Seren, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my 2 cats because ther cute fluffy and they maek me feel safe and cozy! I love them. MY cats names are Henry and Snape. They are also snugly.” — Josephine, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my famuley because they keep me safe I love them. They love me so much.” — Joseph, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because with out them I would not be alive.” — Jackson, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my dad cus he gits me evrething I wont and he is so nos to me.” — Elise, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my famaye. And my frens. And my skcool.” — Genesis, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my dad because he has lots uv mune [money].” — Rama, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my pool table because I can play.” — Aaron, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my dog Baron because he cudlz with me.” — Carter, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for the gym because it helps me exrsis I like to do sitps.” — Mason, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my bruthrs because they play fut bul with me.” — Mason, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for math because you can get better at sabutizing and at adding and equashins. It is fun for me because I love equashins. I love math because you can get a good job. I love math because you can get smarter.” — Landon, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for pepul because you can mak frents. My frents are nis. We like to play stor. I love my frents.” — Whitney, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful I can go to school becos som cochres [countries] cannot go to school.” — Maizie, Wildwood Elementary
“I em thafhofor sportds because hockey i luc seeing my friends play hocket. I am i tace off my skates.” — Masen, Wildwood Elementary
“I went to Wisconsin dells in grandpa daves toyota rave 4. It was… EXITING! I was sleeping with Dad on the couch.” — Jack, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for food because if we did not have food it wood be so hard for os to stae olive and it wood olso be so not fun.” — Luella, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for family because then I wouldnt stay healthy without them!” — Andy, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my grama and grabu because they love me because I love because.” — Blake, Wildwood Elementary
“I love my family they are so nise an the news people. I howp you like me. I like you. I wath you on TV. I am very nice! I am thankful four you!” — Ava, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because they give me waht I need and because they love me and because they are nice to me and because they let me play.” — Nola, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for God bekause he made the ehavene and the rth and he made man and woman and he made his sun to die on the kos for the sin.” — Jett, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for transportation. Because then you wood haft to wolck. Cus cars and ariplans wouldn’t be invented.” — Louie, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for transportation because we woold not have arplans or cars or busis.” — Quinn, Wildwood Elementary
“I’m tank full for soccer because I love to watch games! I play soccer so munch! I want to be a soccer playr when I grow up. Becase I love soccer so munch.” — Nuraden, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for school. If we didn’t have school nun of us wud be smart. Thats why I am thankful.” — Will, Wildwood Elementary
“Im thankrol for cats because they are saf and you can holld them.” — Charlotte, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my brother. If I didn’t have my brother I wod be alone i do not like to be alone. My brother is 4. My brother name is Jack.” — Kate, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for classmates so I can make naw friends!” — Landon, Wildwood Elementary
“Im thankful for my brother because he plays with me and he plays football with me.” — Sully, Wildwood Elementary
“Im thankfu be cus seu thay nap youn teeth oso thay cle your teeth.” — Addies, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for cars because I will go places like on vacation.” — Morgan, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for… food! Because if we did not have food we would not survive!” — Harper, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful of clottes because tha are playf and jofl and respegdfl.” — Evlyn, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my dog because she is cute. I like to pet her.” — Brody, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for friends because they are vary friendly.” — Juliana, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for feelings because you can express your-self with them! And also other people know how you feel.” — Leni, Wildwood Elementary
Evangeline, Wildwood Elementary, Mahtomedi
“I am thankful for rainbow butterfly unicorn kitty because she is a adorable and is cute.” — Evangeline, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for art because it is pretty and colorful and some times it has pom poms on it and it can have stickers and it can have rainbows on it.” — Quinn, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for legos because they make stunf and they are fun.” — Thomas, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for the sun because it gives us heal, light and keeps the planets in orbit.” — Graham, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for school because it is were you do not wach tv. You learn math. And at school is fun.” — Ivy, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for cute animals because if we did not have them no one wood want to have a animal I hope every one will by a cute animal.” — Claire, Wildwood Elementary
Rhett, Wildwood Elementary, Mahtomedi
“I am thankful for pigs because they make me happy.” — Rhett, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my cabin because it is so fun!!!” — Hance, Wildwood Elementary
“I am so thankful for god because he is the best and he made us.” — Wren, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful the bin dango bogowgoing because I want it for Christmas.” — Benaiah, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for American because if I didt have American my family wont have a plas to live, I love America.” — Rosemary, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for the Vikings because they are SO good in the old days they crushed the Bears!” — Finn, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for bull dogs because my new puppy is a bull dog. She is cute.” — Jack, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for fooball because its cool! I love to play it with my friends we love it!” — Garrett, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for life because life made the world because life made my mom and my dad. And my brothers Elliot and Caleb and me.” — Hadley, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thank for dog because cute bequse thay have cute fasis.” — Jackson, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for France because it is so romantic and I like.” — Mia, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my cabin because it is my dream place!” — Teddy, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom because she reads me good books!” — Ava, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my family Because They love me and I Love Them adn we will Be to gethre for evre.” — Drew, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my techer because she helps me.” — Sama, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom because she is in my family.” — Jayden, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for Mrs. Brunrer because she is a techer.” — Lilly, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom and dad because they are kind and loveing.” — Frances, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my famliy because I love thim.” — Yusra, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for church because it helps my familey learn aubout God.” — Logan, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for the zoo because they have penguins.” — Carson, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for the feast because I love the trckey.” — Luke, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my mom because she maks us pancaks.” — Carson, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for school becausu it is fun.” — Graham, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for the army because they giv us freedom.” — Stella, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for school because I learn stuf.” — Scarlett, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my dog Belle because her is cute wen her tac a hacut [haircut]!” — Sam, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for books because I like to read them.” — Harrison, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my sister because I love her!” — Harvey, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for candy because I lik to go trik or treeting.” — Adam, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my hamster because he is cewte.” — Amelia, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for scool because it is the best scool.” — Gavin, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for Luke because he is good.” — Evan, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my dog because my dog is nise to me.” — Oliver, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my cat because she is playful.” — Lacy, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for diet coke because it is so gud.” — Ayla, Wildwood Elementary
“Im thankful for school because of math.” — Mason, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my cat because my cat is nics.” — Juliana, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for the livadare because it heas you to read and tech is the kids to read together and to thr mom and dad.” — Maya, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my birthday because I get presents. And I am the first one to get cake.” — Liam, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for dogs because they be gud.” — Alex, Wildwood Elementary
Cora, Wildwood Elementary, Mahtomedi
“I am thankful for books because I can go on an avenchr ware aver I am.” — Cora, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because thay help me stay hethe.” — Kellan, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because they are niest to me. I love them so much.” — Milan, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for Krismas because pepole get presits.” — Vinny, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for foot [food] because it is goot for you.” — Gabby, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thakful for a great school.” — Marcos, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for school because I liek to lrn.” — Mac, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for schol because I have the best techr.” — Vada, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankfull for justice. I am thankfull for God and Jeuss. I am thankfull for people that went to war. I am thankfull for people that have a seltr.” — Weston, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for justice and fredom because we have rits too be fre for evr and evr. P.S. the flag mens freedom for all.” — Josephine, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my friends because friends are more important than money. I am thankful for every single thing in my life because I wouldn’t be alive right now. I am thankful for my family because I would’t be born with out my family.” — Liam, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful that I can go to school and God and Jesus and my friends and dad because he gets us cash and people that fight for us and are planet.” — Easton, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because they give me things and love me and my sister. I am thankful for turkeys. Because they let us eat them so we can have them for diner.” — Reagan, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for God my family my grapu I ma thankful for justice my mom my dad for dogs and cats for people my teacher’s and me!!” — Freya, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my sister.” — John, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for God and Jesus because they gave us lise.” — Ty, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my duck.” — Gavin, Wildwood Elementary
“I am tankful that people went in the war to help our planit.” — Addie, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for trch byckus. If we ditit have trch we wud not have god and fod.” — Harrison, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my uncle because he was in the war.” — Joey, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my Dog he was a nis Dog and calm.” — Charlotte, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thakful for my sister.” — Andre, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for people becos sum people have spesh neds. And even people are blind.” — Zoey, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my dad in the war.” — George, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for our this planet!” — Isla, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for people that fight for us.” — Mira, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for God I trust amen! I am thankful for the stachyou uv liberdey!” — Cree, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my legos because I play with them and they are special.” — Artie, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my BFF because theyre fun. They are the best friends in the world.” — Mila, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my dog because she gives me so much love. They are so fun.” — Leo, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because they take care of me. It is fun when I decorate cookies.” — Ellie, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for god because he made us live. I am thankful for my family because thay are nice. I am thankful for my dog because he’s fluffy.” — Josiph, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my BFF’s because we are friends.” — Lincoln, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my teacher because she is nice. My mom is nice and fun. It is fun to play with my brother.” — Logan, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for earth and god and jesus because he cares about all of us.” — Cooper, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because they are nice.” — Clara, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for Jesus because he made us live.” — Andriah, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for god because he keeps the nightmares and he makes light and he made life and he made earth and dirt and houses.” — Myles, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankfol for my life because I have a family.” — Finn, 7, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my dogs and love my cats and my home because they are sweet.” — Zoey, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my family because they love me. They are kind.” — Eliza, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for santa claus because he is nise. He gives presents to you.” — Declan, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my teacher because she helps me learn.” — Caraline, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for My cat because it is Showing me Love.” — Julia, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for my BFF’s because they are my best friends forever.” — Tori, 6, Wildwood Elementary
“I am thankful for penguins because the babes are cute and if I cud I wood hug all the penguins in the wrld.” — Carson, 7, Lake Elmo
The St. Paul school district finally is getting strategic with its budget.
In the coming weeks, staff will evaluate more than 90 programs, practices and partnerships the district has supported for at least four years.
Some of those commitments will be cut off to free up resources for the district’s latest priorities: school climate, culturally relevant instruction, and college and career preparation.
“This is really exciting for me because I think this is how budgets are supposed to be made,” board member Mary Vanderwert said at a meeting last week.
In the past, the district largely has set its annual budgets by taking whatever it spent money on the previous year and increasing that amount for inflation.
Board members, notably Steve Marchese, who followed through on a 2018 threat by voting against budget adoption in June, repeatedly have called for a more thoughtful process.
Several months ago, Chief Financial Officer Marie Schrul introduced a priority-based budgeting model from the Government Finance Officers Association. She said the district’s academic and finance leaders are working together to “set your priorities first and then build your budget.”
“We’re aligning everything to our priorities and student outcomes,” she said. “It’s been a total change.”
They’ve seen hiccups, however, in determining what those priorities really are.
A community survey around three focal points of Superintendent Joe Gothard’s strategic plan was packed with jargon, Marchese said, and parents fretted it would be their only opportunity to weigh in on the budget.
Survey respondents also were overwhelmingly white, administers acknowledged. The district now is seeking out parents of color to fill it out.
CAN’T FUND IT ALL
Gothard, who has been superintendent since July 2017, unveiled his strategic plan in December 2018. He put some early pieces of that plan in place this school year, embedding teacher coaches in 28 struggling schools, hiring counselors and work-based learning coordinators, and restoring a third daily elective class in middle schools.
Next year, he’s looking to make instruction more culturally relevant and do more in two areas: school climate and preparing students for whatever they’ll do after high school graduation.
His strategic plan also calls for evaluating programs and dropping the ones that don’t seem to be making a difference.
“When you try to fund every priority, both existing and new ones, it just simply isn’t enough,” he said.
Gothard said an initial pass last year at deciding what to “stop, start and sustain” didn’t work.
“We got nowhere,” he said.
This year, they’re being more deliberate.
EIGHT CRITERIA
Research director Stacey Gray Akyea has a list of 92 programs, practices and agreements for which the district offers money, staff time, building space and/or access to student records. They include the elective course AVID, which seeks to prepare promising students of color for college, as well as programs outside the school day, such as Lego League and College Possible.
Programs funded at the school level or those protected by law or board policy are not under scrutiny.
By Dec. 9, Gray Akyea and six others will evaluate each commitment on a rubric with eight criteria:
Fit: Is it easy to navigate and aligned to district objectives?
Financial feasibility: Is it worth our time, money and people?
Structure: Is there a specific focus and a logic or theory behind it?
Staffing: Can we easily find and keep the people who run and oversee it?
Effectiveness: Is there evidence of change in or out of the district?
Desire /demand/stakeholder interest.
Leg-acy: Does it have hidden costs or require excessive coordination by the district?
Equity: Is it grounded in equity, and what are the barriers to participation?
Gray Akyea said a tight schedule, necessary to give the school board time to put its stamp on the budget, means the evaluation will not be as robust as it will be in future years.
She doesn’t know, for example, exactly how many students participate in each program. And without rosters, she’ll be unable to analyze how well each one works.
“We’re being very careful with our recommendations,” she said.
Each commitment either will get a recommendation to “sustain” — to keep doing it — or it won’t.
“If you focus on what you want to sustain, then what you need to stop will become clear,” Gray Akyea said.
Gothard and staff hope the scoring system will help the school board stick to its guns when community members inevitably lobby to have their pet programs preserved.
“There’s got to be places where people understand we can’t do it all,” said Karen Randall, assistant director for strategic planning.
Macalester College is removing its founder’s name from two campus buildings in response to recent campus outcry over his “racist and dehumanizing” writings toward indigenous people, the school announced Monday.
The Rev. Edward Duffield Neill was a Presbyterian pastor and historian who became Minnesota’s first superintendent of public instruction and the University of Minnesota’s first chancellor before founding Macalester in 1874.
The Rev. Edward Duffield Neill was a Presbyterian pastor and historian who became Minnesota’s first superintendent of public instruction and the University of Minnesota’s first chancellor before founding Macalester in 1874. (Wikimedia Commons, public-domain image)
American Indian students in recent years have called attention to Neill’s more troubling views of indigenous people, as well as female students. The campus newspaper Mac Weekly last month published a special issue on Neill and other namesakes of campus buildings.
President Brian Rosenberg last week recommended Neill’s name be removed from both Neill Hall and a room inside Weyerhaeuser Hall. The Board of Trustees then approved the moves.
“The language and attitudes expressed toward indigenous people in those writings are racist and dehumanizing in the extreme, even by the admittedly different standards of the time,” Rosenberg and the board wrote in a joint statement Monday.
The statement noted that Neill Hall was called the Humanities Building until 2013, when it was renamed to avoid confusion over where humanities classes actually were held. The move was “neither controversial nor extensively discussed at that time,” they said.
“Only when students, including members of the student organization Proud Indigenous People for Education (PIPE), went back to the primary texts — Neill’s historical writings — were his beliefs brought to our attention,” the statement continued.
Jennings Mergenthal, a PIPE member and Macalester junior, said the student group has been calling attention to Neill’s writings since soon after the Humanities Building was renamed, with events and opinion pieces in the student paper. But the Mac Weekly’s special edition gave the issue legitimacy and brought it to a larger audience.
Neill’s “accomplishments and his deep flaws” will be recognized at Macalester in some other public way.
“We are aware that even people who do good things can also do bad things, and that history is complicated. But we believe, too, that abhorrent beliefs and writings that stand out even within an historical context should not be overlooked, and that continuing to honor Neill as if these beliefs and writings were not unearthed would be wrong,” the statement read.
Mergenthal said there are other building namesakes at Macalester who are worth another look. PIPE focused on Neill because he is “the most well-known historical example and definitely the most removed from the present,” Mergenthal said.
Neill Hall will be known once again as the Humanities Building until a committee comes up with a new name.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says he’s stepping in to ensure school milk prices remain affordable.
“Milk in schools isn’t a luxury — it’s a staple and a necessity,” Ellison said in a statement announcing an agreement with the Dairy Farmers of America. The deal will impact about 40 school districts through 2030.
The unusual move comes after the Dairy Farmers of America acquired a St. Paul milk processing facility in October 2018 from Canadian dairy company Agropur. Before the acquisition, metro school districts bought milk from that plant and a competing facility owned by Kemps.
Kemps is already owned by the Dairy Farmers of America and Ellison alleged the cooperative essentially had created a monopoly over the local school milk supply. The Dairy Farmers of America denied those claims.
Ellison and the dairy cooperative agreed to an “assurance of discontinuance” that will require the Dairy Farmers of America bid for school contracts and prices be no higher than the 2018-2019 school year. The agreement allows prices to be adjusted to “reflect the current milk industry.”
Ellison said the deal would “blunt the anti-competitive edge” the Dairy Farmers of America had created by purchasing the St. Paul milk processing plant.
“My office intervened to make sure prices of this staple can remain affordable for thousands of kids and their families, and for thousands of Minnesota taxpayers, for the next decade,” Ellison said.
Most of the districts affected by the move are in the Twin Cities metro, including the state’s four largest districts: Anoka-Hennepin, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan.
The St. Paul school board is giving Superintendent Joe Gothard at least three more years to chart a new path for a district struggling with enrollment, student achievement and costly construction projects.
The board on Tuesday unanimously approved a new contract for Gothard that will increase his compensation by at least $14,900 per year.
“We believe that Dr. Gothard has set a strong foundation for our schools,” board chairwoman Zuki Ellis said.
Gothard’s salary has been $232,000 since he left Burnsville-Eagan-Savage for St. Paul in 2017. For years four through six, he’ll get $240,000 — second-most in the state, behind Minnetonka’s Dennis Peterson, based on last year’s superintendent salaries as reported by the Minnesota Department of Education.
In addition, the St. Paul district will double its contribution to Gothard’s retirement account, to $9,000 per year. And his business expense allowance will be $9,600 per year, compared with $7,200 under his first deal.
Finally, the district will continue paying the premiums for Gothard’s family health insurance plan, up to $1,500 per month. He also gets free dental coverage up to $125 per month and life insurance worth three times his salary.
There are no built-in salary increases, but the board will consider raises for Gothard after his annual performance evaluations.
St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Joe Gothard talks about the new teachers contract at Galtier Elementary School on Feb. 12, 2018. Behind him are St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, left, and Nick Faber, president of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
However, the board has criticized Gothard for failing to produce a priorities-based budget. They also have called for a more equitable school district, better strategic communications, sustainable finances and improvements in the facilities department.
Gothard already has taken steps to address some of those complaints:
As part of a new priorities-based budget process, a staff review team in the coming weeks will analyze more than 90 district commitments and make recommendations for which ones should continue.
The board also has been troubled by persistent declines in enrollment, which have continued under Gothard.
Preliminary district data show K-12 enrollment in October was down 874 students — 2.5 percent — compared with the same time last year, and down 4 percent compared with 2017.
An enrollment and student placement task force has been studying the problem. They’ll soon roll out an exit survey to figure out why families are leaving the district.
Enrollment at six elementary buildings this year is below 300 students, which Gothard said Tuesday is “a concern for staffing and academics.”
Although graduation rates have trended up, proficiency rates on St. Paul students’ math exams have fallen several points in recent years; the Minneapolis district’s 39 percent pass rate beats St. Paul’s 31 percent on the state math test, and 43 percent to 39 percent in reading.
St. Paul district leaders haven’t said much about plans to improve academic performance beyond stating a desire to close achievement gaps between student groups.
St. Paul College interim president Deidra Peaslee will get one more year on the job, Minnesota State Chancellor Devinder Malhotra said Wednesday.
Peaslee took the job in June after Rassoul Dastmozd stepped down. She was expected to serve one year, but Malhotra said she will stay on through June 2021.
Malhotra also announced Larry Lundblad will get a second year as Minnesota State College Southeast’s interim president.
“The stability of leadership for their colleges is critical, and our interim leaders need more time to appropriately position their institutions for the upcoming leadership transitions,” Malhotra told the Board of Trustees for the Minnesota State college and university system.
Peaslee previously was vice president of academic and student affairs at Anoka Ramsey Community College.
One month after she took over for Dastmozd, the accrediting body Higher Learning Commission placed St. Paul College on probation, citing under-qualified instructors, faculty turnover, complaints about “a climate of fear and intimidation,” and the college’s failure to analyze and learn from student assessment data results.
The practical nursing program at the college also faces possible closure unless it makes rapid improvement in pass rates on the licensure exam.
The now-defunct Globe University and the Minnesota School of Business filed for federal bankruptcy protection Thursday, just two weeks after the state Supreme Court ruled more than a thousand defrauded former students could get tuition refunds.
In court documents, leaders for the closed schools said the institutions had thousands of creditors that were owed as much as $50 million in debts and less than $500,000 in assets. Those creditors include about 1,200 students who attended the schools’ criminal justice programs.
Earlier this month, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that all students who attended that program could seek refunds for tuition and other education expenses. The schools had fought to limit the students owed refunds to the 15 who testified during a 2017 fraud trial.
In September 2017, a Hennepin County judge found the schools had defrauded students by leading them to believe completing the criminal justice program would help them become police and probation officers.
ELLISON: SCHOOLS FAIL TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
In a statement Thursday, Attorney General Keith Ellison criticized the schools for failing to take responsibility for fraudulent actions.
“Right now we don’t know how or when students are going to get their money back. That will be for courts to sort out,” Ellison said. “What I do know is that my office will fight for every last dollar from MSB and Globe to make up for the harm they did.”
The schools’ attorney declined to comment.
HOW WE GOT HERE
Then-Attorney General Lori Swanson filed a lawsuit against the schools in 2015 after receiving multiple complaints from former students who were misled. As part of that lawsuit, Globe and the Minnesota School of Business were found to have made illegal loans to students that violated state consumer protections.
The fraud finding led the state Office of Higher Education to revoke the schools ability to operate in Minnesota. The U.S. Department of Education cut off the institutions’ access to the federal student aid programs shortly after.
Those punitive actions forced the institutions to close most locations, but some continued to operate for a short time under other names.
Leaders of the two schools, once based in Woodbury, have accused state officials of being overzealous in the legal actions that led to the institutions’ closure. They’ve argued the schools addressed issues with the criminal justice program as soon as they were raised by state officials.
Both Swanson and Ellison have said the institutions’ violations were too serious to allow them to continue to operate in Minnesota.
“MSB and Globe committed pervasive fraud that left students who wanted to serve their communities as police and probation officers with nothing but worthless degrees and a mountain of debt,” Ellison said. “The schools fought for years to evade responsibility and lost. Now they’re filing for bankruptcy instead of doing the right thing and paying students back for the fraud they perpetrated.”
SCHOOLS HOPE TO AVOID CASH FLOW CRISIS
In the bankruptcy filing, representatives for the institutions said despite no longer educating students the schools’ have related subsidiaries that still own multiple pieces of real estate worth $36 million. Some of those properties also have mortgages worth about $8 million.
The schools also have loans they are collecting from former students that were not found to be invalid by the state.
Documents filed Thursday say the schools are seeking bankruptcy protection to avoid a “liquidity,” or cash flow, crisis because they fear the state will move to quickly recoup money owed to former students for tuition and other expenses.
The bankruptcy case said the schools’ leaders plan to use existing assets to pay creditors.
Stillwater’s first Catholic high school could open as early as next fall if plans for a Chesterton Academy campus are approved.
Representatives of Chesterton Academy of the St. Croix Valley want to open the school in a vacant office building at 1835 Northwestern Ave., in time for the 2020-21 school year.
Chesterton, a private Catholic high school that specializes in classical instruction, currently has campuses in Hopkins and St. Paul.
But the school has outgrown its east campus at Church of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul, and church officials want a site farther from Hill-Murray School in Maplewood, officials said.
The Rev. John Powers (Courtesy of St. Croix Catholic School)
“Looking at the demographics to where they’re drawing from, they’ve had a number of families who have expressed interest who live in Stillwater and Hudson, (Wis.),” said the Rev. John Powers, the parochial vicar at the Church of St. Michael and Church of St. Mary in Stillwater.
About 45 students currently attend Chesterton in St. Paul, he said.
Tuition at Chesterton for the 2019-20 academic year is $7,620 per student with a $395 book and supply fee, according to the school’s website. Hill-Murray’s tuition is almost $14,000.
“We have lots of people who would like to send their children to Catholic high school but, honestly, it’s hard for them to afford it,” Father Powers said. “Chesterton is trying to fill that void.”
St. Croix Catholic School, which is located next to the Church of St. Michael, has 250 full-time K-8 students and 41 in part-time pre-K; the average class size is in the low 20s.
Powers said many St. Croix Catholic families would welcome the addition of a Catholic high school with small class sizes in Stillwater.
Chesterton Academy, named after Catholic writer G.K. Chesterton, specializes in classical instruction, a teaching approach that emphasizes grammar, rhetoric and logic. Two years of Latin is mandatory, according to the school’s website.
The school opened in Edina in 2008 with fewer than a dozen students; it now serves more than 150. The founders also created a “Chesterton Schools Network” for people in other cities wishing to start their academy; there are Chesterton academies in Omaha, Milwaukee, Chicago and Buffalo, N.Y., among other locations.
In an interview with Regina magazine, Chesterton Academy co-founder Dale Ahlquist said four things set a Chesterton school apart from other American Catholic schools: “Daily Mass, a truly integrated curriculum, four years of philosophy, and an excellent arts program, where all the students learn to sing, act and paint.”
Christopher Olley, executive director at Chesterton Academy, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Paul Loomis, president of the board of the Chesterton Academy of the St. Croix Valley, said it would be premature to comment on the school’s plans until they are approved.
The site that Chesterton is proposing, the Wild River Office Park, is zoned business park / industrial; schools are not allowed in that zoning district, said Bill Turnblad, community development director.
School officials are requesting a zoning-code amendment to allow schools by conditional-use permit in the zoning district and a conditional-use permit, Turnblad said.
City staff is recommending denial “because it’s zoned business park / industrial and allowing non-industrial uses on industrially-zoned property lessens our ability for more bonafide industrial uses,” Turnblad said Monday.
Another option may be to change the city’s comprehensive plan and rezone the property — along with four adjacent ones — to business park / office, which would match the properties on the west side of Northwestern, he said.
“There are five properties right along Northwestern in that immediate area that all are office uses and not industrial uses,” Turnblad said. “The other option is (to) … recognize that the demand for industrial uses is just not that high.”
The vacant office park, formerly a Re/Max Realty office, pays $24,714 a year in property taxes; Turnblad said the private Catholic school would likely apply for tax-exempt status.
Al Weber wears his old softball team jacket as he shovels his front steps and sidewalk in North St. Paul on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019. "I knew it was coming," he said of the snow. "I just didn't want it to come on Thanksgiving." He has 10 guests tomorrow. (Jean Pieri / Pioneer Press)
Tim Kalik, just home from his workplace at Xcel in St. Paul, shovels snow onto his daughter, Lucy, 9, in Stillwater Wednesday morning, Nov. 27, 2019. Lucy has a snow day from school today and is waiting for her friends to go sledding. Tim said he has been up since 3:15 a.m. when the plows drove by. He drove into St. Paul to his workplace at around 6:30 but they let employees go home around 8:30 due to the weather. (Jean Pieri / Pioneer Press)
Three chairs were covered in fresh snow along St. Paul Avenue in St. Paul, on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)
Genevieve Hastreiter, 8, and Emma Williamson slide down a hill in North St. Paul Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019. Three home-school families played on the hill, which is considered a neighborhood hangout. (Jean Pieri / Pioneer Press)
A wind gust blows snow in the face of Savannah Hennessey, 9, as she cleans off her grandparents' car with her mittens after a snow day released her from school at Horace Mann Elementary School, on Highland Parkway in St. Paul, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019.( Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press )
Derrick DeHart shovels snow in downtown Stillwater on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019. (Jean Pieri / Pioneer Press)
Delayed travelers, who declined to give their names, camp out in a hallway at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, on Wednesday Nov. 27, 2019. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)
Travelers head to the terminal on one of the busiest travel days of the year at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)
Cars are buried in fresh snow along St. Paul Avenue in St. Paul on Wednesdsay, Nov. 27, 2019. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)
Snow on a street in Minneapolis on Nov. 27, 2019. (Andy Rathbun / Pioneer Press)
A pre-Thanksgiving snowstorm gave the Twin Cities their first taste of winter in a big way … and more looks to be on the way for the holiday weekend.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport saw 9.2 inches of snow from the storm, according to the National Weather Service. Prior Lake saw 12 inches of snow, and as much as 15 inches fell in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
With the storm — the biggest November snowfall in nearly two decades — the Twin Cities eclipsed the mark for the all-time wettest year on record.
The NWS said 40.81 inches of liquid precipitation has been recorded so far in 2019. The previous record was 40.32 inches in 2016.
The storm also set a new daily snowfall record. Wednesday saw 7.2 inches of snow in the Twin Cities, breaking the previous Nov. 27 record of 4.9 inches set in 1983.
There were numerous reports of crashes and spin outs on highways across the Twin Cities. The Minnesota State Patrol said the state’s roads saw 385 crashes (28 with injuries), 565 spin outs, and 24 jackknifed semis from 9:45 p.m. Tuesday through 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
AAA spokesperson Rose White urged drivers not to use cruise control when the road conditions are slick and proceed with caution.
“Of course, the snowstorm is going to complicate everyone’s driving ability,” White said. “It’s just very important to take it slow, stay alert to the latest weather conditions and road conditions, and of course make sure everyone’s buckled up.”
MANY BUSES DELAYED EARLY ON
Metro Transit officials on Wednesday said snow caused delays on many bus routes during the morning commute. As of 9 a.m. about 40 percent of the agency’s buses were delayed, with the average extra wait about 9 minutes.
Meanwhile, officials at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport reported 35 flight cancellations and more than 150 delays due to the storm.
Most flights were making it out, but occasionally runways were shut down for plowing, said Patrick Hogan, director of corporate communications for the Metropolitan Airports Commission. By 7 a.m., all three major runways were back open.
“We’ve been in pretty good shape,” said Hogan. “We were very fortunate that snow fell last night … there were times last night when we didn’t have any runways open.”
But there are usually only a handful of flights at night anyway, he said.
SCHOOL CANCELLATIONS
St. Paul Public Schools called off classes Wednesday ahead of the snowstorm, joining many area districts that had already scheduled the day off.
The University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus canceled classes as of 11 p.m. Tuesday and shifted to “reduced operations,” with no school on Wednesday.
The Stillwater district also canceled classes Wednesday.
Burnsville-Eagan-Savage, Inver Grove Heights and Roseville also canceled Wednesday classes ahead of the storm.
For Minneapolis and many other metro districts, the day before Thanksgiving was a scheduled off-day anyway.
Before the school year began, Wednesday had been scheduled as a staff-only workday for the following districts: Anoka-Hennepin, Rosemount-Eagan-Apple Valley, South Washington County, Mounds View, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale, White Bear Lake and West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan.
SUBURBS DECLARING SNOW EMERGENCIES
The city of West St. Paul declared a snow emergency Tuesday night. More information about snow plowing and parking for West St. Paul can be found on their city website.
ANOTHER STORM BREWING
A mix of rain, snow and ice is possible Friday through Sunday, but there is still uncertainty about the track of the storm and potential rain/snow amounts, the National Weather Service said. A winter storm watch has been posted for the northern two-thirds of Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, and northwestern Wisconsin.
Statewide road condition information is available online at 511mn.org.
J.D. Duggan, Caitlin Anderson, Mary Divine and Frederick Melo contributed.
MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents has selected UW-Stout’s next chancellor.
The regents said Tuesday they’ve hired Katherine Frank, the vice president of academic innovation and an English professor at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. She will replace former UW-Stout Chancellor Bob Meyer, who retired in August.
Frank will become Stout’s first female chancellor when she assumes the post on March 1. She’ll make $260,000 annually.
Frank beat out three other finalists for the position, including Valparaiso University Provost Mark Biermann; Pacific Northwest College of Art Interim President Christopher Grant Maples; and Potomac State College of West Virginia University Interim President Jennifer Orlikoff.
The popular but aging Treasure Island playground at Expo Elementary is coming down next summer, and volunteers are raising money to replace it with something just as special.
The school district has put up $280,000 — standard for a district elementary school — and the school has raised around $70,000 more.
That’s well short of the $742,000 concept the community and district started working on in 2016. Any donations received by a Dec. 1 deadline can go toward buying the primary play equipment for the district’s largest K-5 school.
After that, fundraising will continue for months to establish nature-based play elements around the main structure.
“We know that particular design and that kind of fundraising goal is not going to be realized,” said Amy Huerta, an Expo parent who has led fundraising efforts this fall.
Huerta has visited Treasure Island for years as a sister, friend, babysitter and mom. Kids call it the castle playground, or pirate playground, she said.
“It’s a huge space in this beautifully landscaped backyard, and people made it. The community came together and built this playground with their hands … to make it a really cool place,” she said.
Built in 1992 as a partnership between the city, school district and Expo parents, as well as residents and businesses in the Highland Park and Macalester-Groveland neighborhoods, the wooden play structure is beyond its useful life.
The school district was ready to tear it down last summer but held off for a year to allow more time for fundraising.
“We wanted to work with them to realize that vision,” Facilities Director Tom Parent said. “It’s a very unique place.”
Huerta said donations have ranged from a $10,000 family matching grant to kids dropping by with a dollar and a second grader who dedicated a percentage of the sales from his bath-bomb business.
In 2011, as part of the deal to end a state government shutdown, Minnesota lawmakers eliminated a little-used matching grant that helped low- and moderate-income families save for college.
Six years later, the Legislature enacted a new set of college-savings incentives that are among the most generous in the nation — and which overwhelmingly benefit the affluent.
At an annual cost to the state of about $10 million, the incentives promote investing in a 529 plan, a federally authorized investment vehicle that allows families to grow their college-savings accounts tax-free.
Still unknown to most Americans, 529s largely benefit the wealthy because they’re the ones with substantial money to save for college, and because investment income is taxed differently from earned income: For federal income tax purposes, a 529 plan doesn’t benefit a married couple making less than about $100,000 because they can invest for their kid’s education tax-free in a regular brokerage account.
The Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank, called 529s a “handout to the affluent” and “a strong contender for the prize of most absurd tax break of all.”
State tax incentives like the ones Minnesota passed in 2017 are similarly “wasteful” and “regressive,” according to their 2017 report, “A tax break for ‘Dream Hoarders.’ ”
Although Minnesota’s 529 plan tax incentives can help lower-income people who don’t benefit from the federal tax provisions, those families aren’t taking advantage the way higher earners are.
According to tax data the Minnesota Department of Revenue provided to the Pioneer Press:
In 2017, the first year the state’s college-savings incentives were in effect, Minnesota tax filers with adjusted gross incomes over $100,000 were 46 times as likely as those making under $50,000 to claim a state tax benefit for contributing to a 529 plan.
Those same high earners were five times as likely to claim a 529 plan tax break compared with filers making $50,000 to $100,000.
Put another way, 79 percent of all claims for a 529 plan tax break came from the 22 percent of Minnesota tax filers who have adjusted gross incomes over $100,000.
‘GREAT SUCCESS’
Whether that’s a problem or not depends on who you ask.
“This has been a great success story,” said Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, who sponsored the 2017 bill and reviewed the tax data at the newspaper’s request.
Davids, who works as a financial planner, said college costs are too high, and he wants to reward families for taking the initiative to save up.
“I think we should help these folks,” he said. “My intention was to be very aggressive on this.”
Senate Tax Committee Chairman Roger Chamberlain, R-Lino Lakes, said that at $10 million a year — less than one-thousandth of the state’s income tax revenue — it’s “not a big deal” that the 529 incentives mainly help high earners. And he notes the government already does plenty for low-income students.
Minnesota ranks 11th in the nation in total need-based aid it awards to college students.
In 2018, the state handed out $194 million in state grants intended for students struggling to pay for college — although $7 million of that went to students from families making over $100,000.
The federal Pell Grant in 2018 delivered Minnesota students another $425 million.
Chamberlain points to the so-called “doughnut hole” of middle-income families who can’t write a check to pay for college but who qualify for little to no financial aid.
“We’re just trying to provide something for those folks in that gap,” he said.
MISSED THE MARK
A 2018 survey by Sallie Mae and Ipsos found that among high-income people, half of what they were saving for college was locked away in either a 529 or a similar vehicle that was designed specifically for college savings.
That was true of just 9 percent of the dollars low-income people had saved for college.
The state’s 2017 tax breaks aimed to change that, said Sen. Greg Clausen, DFL-Apple Valley. He tried for years to enact state income tax incentives for 529 contributions before carrying the successful 2017 legislation in the Senate.
“The goal was to put 529 types of investment options in reach for more income levels, not just for the rich,” he said.
Clausen acknowledges the law missed the mark.
“I think it’s something to look at, definitely,” he said. “The statistics on it are rather interesting.”
The Minnesota Department of Revenue, too, was surprised by how the tax breaks have skewed toward high earners.
The department estimated the nonrefundable tax credit — available to low- and middle-income filers but not those at the very bottom who pay no taxes — would cost the state $7.5 million in 2017-18.
They figured the tax subtraction, available to all filers but especially advantageous for high earners, was estimated to cost $2.5 million.
In fact, the tax credit that year cost $5.4 million and the subtraction around $4.4 million.
Rep. Laurie Pryor, DFL-Minnetonka, vice chair of the higher education finance committee, said the incentives aren’t working as intended.
“The idea is to help make college affordable, and if we’re not reaching that group that needs the help, then it’s something that we need to take a look at,” she said.
HOW IT WORKS
Here’s how the 529 plan and tax incentives work:
529 plans are authorized by the federal government but operated by states, which offer varying fees and options for investing in stocks, bonds and the like. As long as the money is spent on college-related costs, the earnings are not taxed; earnings not spent on higher education are taxed as income plus a 10 percent penalty.
Congress in 2017 made K-12 private school tuition an eligible expenditure for the 529 plan’s federal income tax breaks, but Minnesota still restricts its incentives to higher education spending.
Minnesota is one of seven states that allow their residents to claim a state income tax incentive whether they contribute to the home-state plan or a different 529. The incentives aren’t restricted to family members. Any Minnesota resident can claim a tax incentive for contributing to a 529 plan for another person’s benefit.
At tax time, filers choose between a tax credit or a tax subtraction. The maximum benefit Minnesota offers is a $500 nonrefundable tax credit. To get the full amount, a tax filer must contribute at least $1,000 to a 529 plan while reporting adjusted gross income of no more than $75,000. The tax credit’s value shrinks for higher earners. Very low earners who don’t pay income tax do not qualify because the credit is nonrefundable. The average filer’s 529 plan tax credit in 2017 was worth $271.
In the alternative, tax filers can claim a tax deduction, or subtraction, which reduces their taxable income. There is no limit on a filer’s income for the subtraction. The state’s highest earners can reduce their tax liability by $295.50 for making $3,000 in contributions to a 529. The average 2017 tax subtraction was worth roughly $162, according to a Department of Revenue estimate.
Clausen said he had tried to make the tax credit refundable so that very low-income families could benefit. He’d also support an income ceiling for the incentives, saying he can’t explain why the tax subtraction didn’t include one in the first place.
Eleven states offer subsidies to low-income families who invest in a 529 plan, according to the Brookings report. However, as Minnesota learned with its defunct matching grants, few families take advantage.
The 529 plan grants the Legislature eliminated in 2011 offered a 15 percent match on contributions for families with adjusted gross incomes under $50,000, and a 10 percent match for incomes up to $80,000. The matching grant was capped at $400.
In 2006, Minnesota budgeted $1 million for the matching grants. It awarded just $245,000.
BIPARTISAN SUPPORT
Despite their inherent inequities, 529 plan incentives have proved politically resilient.
The federal income-tax-free provision was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2001 — the same year Minnesota’s 529 plan began operating.
When President Barack Obama proposed repealing the 529 plan law in 2015, he quickly retreated amid backlash from both Republican and Democratic leaders worried about angering the upper middle class.
States eagerly have encouraged their residents to contribute to 529 plans. At the time the Brookings report was published, in 2017, there were 33 states offering their own income tax incentives.
Besides highlighting the 529’s regressive nature, the Brookings report raised doubts about whether the plans actually meet the goal of getting families to save more for college.
Because there is no requirement that the funds be newly invested, a well-off parent could simply transfer funds into a 529 plan from other vehicles, such as regular brokerages or IRAs, in order to take advantage of their state’s tax breaks.
MODEST INCREASE
It’s hard to tell what impact the 2017 incentives actually have had on college savings, but there has been a modest increase in contributions to the state’s 529 plan.
In 2016, the year before the tax incentives were written into law, the state-run 529 plan opened 4,407 new accounts.
The number of new accounts opened in 2017 was 5,643 and 7,199 a year later.
Total dollars contributed to the state plan grew by 6 percent and 9 percent with the incentives in place after 3 percent increases the two previous years.
That doesn’t capture the entire picture, however, as Minnesotans who invest in other states’ plans can cash in on the state tax incentives.
On the other hand, it’s likely some families made their contributions with funds from other types of accounts they already had pegged for college. A Minnesota resident who pays attention to tax laws can get up to $500 from the state each year without actually setting additional money aside for college.
It’s also possible some of the increased contributions could be related to Congress making K-12 private school tuition eligible for 529 plan spending, even though the state did not.
