Parents opposed to the Stillwater school board’s decision to close three elementary schools are running out of options.
The Minnesota Supreme Court said Friday that it will not review the board’s March 2016 decision to close Marine, Withrow and Oak Park elementary schools after this school year.
A parent group formed to oppose the closings called 834 VOICE, short for Voters Invested In Our Children’s Education, asked the state’s top court to revisit the decision after an appeals court review found district leaders followed proper procedures when they voted to close the schools.
“Closing these schools will have a ripple effect through the entire Stillwater Area School District, negatively impacting all students with larger class sizes, reduced access to teachers and individualized learning opportunities and longer bus rides,” 834 VOICE said in a statement.
“This outcome is a tragic one for our children and our communities,” the statement said.
District leaders maintain they presented appropriate evidence and followed all state rules when making the decision to close the schools as part of their Building Opportunities to Learn and Discover, or BOLD plan.
School officials say the closures are needed so the district can use limited resources more equitably and efficiently.
“While we know this decision by the Supreme Court doesn’t make the closing of Marine, Oak Park and Withrow any easier, it does end many months of uncertainty as we conclude this year and move into a new school year,” district leaders said in a statement. “We are committed to working along with our entire community to continue our transition into a new year and support our students, staff and families.”
A separate lawsuit against the district alleges school leaders had improper meetings and conflicts of interest while they were weighing the decision to close the three schools. Next month, witnesses are expected to begin giving pre-trial testimony.
The 834 VOICE group is expected to present emails between school leaders that show they considered closing Andersen Elementary in Bayport before settling on Oak Park in Stillwater partly because they feared a political backlash.
School officials acknowledged they considered closing Andersen, but said Oak Park had the better space and accessibility to be repurposed for other district needs.
The planned school closures have brought turmoil to the Stillwater community and became the central issue in the November 2016 school board election, when opponents of the closures won two of three open seats. The issue has also popped up at the state Legislature, and some community members have said they plan to campaign next year against school board members who approved the plan and are up for re-election.
Other parents and community members have urged the district to unify and move past the controversial decision.