The Stillwater school district has a new enrollment predicament: its brand new elementary school isn’t big enough.
Just a year after opening Brookview Elementary in eastern Woodbury, Stillwater school board members are weighing whether to spend as much as $5.5 million to add eight classrooms.
The reason? The building for preschoolers through fifth-graders is already near its 450-student capacity, and more single-family homes are expected to be built in the school’s back yard.
“The real question is not if it is going to happen, but when,” Superintendent Denise Pontrelli told board members at a regular meeting earlier this month. “We do see the families and students coming.”
Woodbury leaders have already detailed one pending development of 240 homes that district officials expect to bring in 100 new students. Other undeveloped land near the school could house more families in the next decade.
Board members are expected to decide Tuesday, Nov. 27, if they want to use the district’s lease levy to fund much of the Brookview expansion. Increasing a district’s lease levy doesn’t require voter approval and is typically used to fund smaller infrastructure projects or to rent classroom space.
Stillwater spent $25.5 million from a $97.5 million capital levy approved in 2015 to build Brookview. School leaders weighed expanding the building footprint before it was even finished, but said state Department of Education officials told them they had to occupy the school for a year before adding on.
FALLING ENROLLMENT
Stillwater has been struggling with enrollment issues for years. The number of students has dropped by more than 700 since 2004, with 8,295 attending district schools this year.
Much of that decline is because of competition from private schools, charters and homeschooling. The percentage of school-age district residents attending Stillwater schools fell from 80 percent in 2004 to 72 percent this year, according to district data.
To adapt, school board members voted 5-2 in March 2016 to close three elementary schools — Withrow and Marine in the northern, more rural part of the district, along with Oak Park Elementary in Stillwater.
The idea was to consolidate students into fewer buildings and use limited resources more efficiently and equitably.
The decision set off a firestorm in the community, largely because of the closure of the two rural schools. Parents protested, lawsuits were filed and candidates opposed to the changes lined up to challenge incumbents on the school board.
Meanwhile, residential construction in the southern part of the district is booming again after falling mostly idle during and after the Great Recession. The district is one of the metro’s largest in terms of area, stretching 30 miles along the St. Croix River and serving 18 communities.
SALE OF MARINE COULD HELP
The recent school closings make the decision to expand Brookview all the more difficult for some board members. One of the ways district leaders hope to defray some of the cost is by tapping the less than $1 million in proceeds from the sale of Marine Elementary to the city of Marine on St. Croix.
“On paper, when you look at the math, absolutely it makes sense,” said Sarah Stivland, a board member elected in November 2016 who objected to the school closings.
She added that for many, seeing money from the sale of Marine being used to expand another school would be tough.
“That hurts. That hurts a lot,” Stivland said.
School administrators argue it will be cheaper to add on to Brookview now than to wait.
MORE SPACE, MONEY CONCERNS
Space at Brookview isn’t the district’s only issue. There are also capacity concerns at the newly updated high school and the district’s two middle schools.
There’s also a need to update Lake Elmo Elementary.
Those challenges have board members wanting to craft a long-term facilities plan.
Mike Ptacek, a board member who initially opposed closing schools, likened decisions about building upgrades to buying a new car or a home.
“I’m never in a hurry. If you go too fast, you happen to make a mistake,” Ptacek said at a recent school board meeting. “I want to consider those topics as part of a bigger picture.”
The district has other money matters to consider. The budget for the 2019-20 school year is $2.5 million in the red, and the board will have to decide what program and staff changes are necessary to close the gap.
“It’s a difficult process,” Jennifer Pelletier, the board chair, said during an October meeting. “No one wants to do it.”
The board is also about to welcome new members. Longtime member George Hoeppner didn’t seek re-election, and Paula O’Loughlin is leaving after serving one term.
New board members Liz Weisberg, Tina Riehle and Mark Burns will join Shelley Pearson on the board in January.