Craig Cox wrote in The Minneapolis Observer: > SCHOOL NAMED AS ONE OF STATE'S 10 MOST ENDANGERED HISTORIC SITES > Pratt Community School, one of 10 Minneapolis schools slated to be > closed this fall due to budget cuts, has shown up on another list: > One of the state's 10 most endangered historic sites.
> The Preservation Alliance cited the 106-year-old school for its > importance in the history of the neighborhood, Alliance board member > Will Stark told Jim Thorp in the Southeast Angle. Stark said inclusion > on the list will help raise awareness of the threats to the building. > Closing the school would be "devastating," said Pratt parent Darin > Warling. "This community was built around the school, the [Prospect Park United > Methodist] church, and the park. Remove one of the legs of the tripod and the > whole thing falls." Although, I support the preservation of the Pratt building, the closing of Pratt Elementary would have little impact. The elementary school has only been reopened for four years and currently enrolls only 80 students, it is in effect subsidized by other schools in the District. The campaign to save Pratt has included a number of misrepresentations as to the quality of the school based on a disproportional representation of White and Asian students. Potential buyers have stated that they intend to maintain the exterior of the building as is and there is a plan by some parents in Prospect Park to replace the District school with a charter if the School Board decides to close Pratt as planned and the Mayor has promised to help encourage a transfer of ownership that would allow a charter school to use the building. The sky is not falling in Prospect Park and neither is the Pratt building. The question is whether other public school parents in the District want to pay to maintain an elementary school of 80 students as a sham excuse for preservation. Michael Atherton Prospect Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
