To view the agendas, minutes, and "key messages" from the Demographics Task Force, click here.
Upcoming Meetings:
- Tuesday, December 13, 2011 Noon-2pm
- Monday, December 19, 2011 Noon-2pm
- Tuesday, January 3, 2011 Noon-2pm
In the News
Article regarding December 12 School Board Meeting
Wilder friends: Money shouldn't be main issue in decision to close schoolAlso, check out WDAZ's story.
The Near North Neighborhood school has too few students
Enrollment has shrunk for years, but parents say closing the school would undermine efforts to revitalize the neighborhood.
By: Pamela Knudson, Grand Forks Herald
Wilder Elementary School supporters urged the Grand Forks School Board at its meeting Monday night to carefully consider the quality of life afforded by neighborhood schools and revitalization efforts aimed in the Near North Neighborhood.
With an enrollment of 75, Wilder is the smallest school in the district. Enrollment has declined 63 percent since 1995 and it has the highest percentage of students attending other schools.
The district’s Demographics Task Force charged with reviewing inefficiencies has cited the north end school for possible closure.
“Across the district, 82 percent of students are attending their home school; 46 percent attend Wilder,” said Justin Berry, a Wilder parent. “Has the district done anything to address this outmigration?”
He and others have formed the Friends of Wilder Elementary to organize parents and rally support for the school. They recently canvassed the neighborhood to inform parents about issues affecting the school and its possible closure.
Next month, the task force will deliver a preliminary report to the board that reviews different options that include redrawing school boundaries, repurposing or closing schools, and building new ones.
The task force meets today from noon to 2 p.m. at Mark Sanford Education Center. The agenda includes time for public comment.
Revitalization
“I believe in the value of neighborhood schools,” said Cory England, a UND Center for Community Engagement staff member working on revitalization of the north end. “There is a perception that the north side is stagnating. “You don’t combat that perception by closing Wilder.”
He and others who spoke at the meeting pointed to early signs of growth and the city’s revitalization efforts to attract residents to the Near North and rehab homes there.
“I’d ask you to make sure you’re not working against those initiatives,” said June Preuss. “Closing Wilder would especially hurt that effort.”
His son is a kindergartener at Wilder.
“It would be a real shame to close Wilder when the current kindergarten class has 24 students, its first increase in 15 years,” he said. “We might have just turned a corner.
“It just seems like really bad timing.”
Quality of life
Tom Bures, who lives in the Riverside area, said he understands business practices and the need for fiscal responsibility. But he said walking and biking a few blocks to school are important benefits of living in Grand Forks.
“I want to provide my kids the favorable education that I feel I received when my parents chose to locate where they did,” he said. “It’s a feeling I want my kids to have.”
The onus is on parents to take care of their kids, but in close-knit neighborhoods “it’s certainly nice when other parents are looking out for your kids too.”
Mike Berg, who retired after 31 years’ experience as a teacher and coach at Grand Forks Central High School, told the board, “When decision time comes, please don’t let a balance sheet be the deciding factor. In Grand Forks, we do what it takes to make this a great place to raise and family and a great place to live.”
Board President Roger Pohlman thanked each person for the comments, noting that a decision about closing a school will be “difficult.”
No action was taken by the board.
Reach Knudson at (701) 780-1107; (800) 477-6572, ext. 107; or send e-mail to pknudson@gfherald.com.
