http://www.startribune.com/stories/1592/4856039.html
It's getting out of hand. Now Pawlenty is making statements about the
number of empty classrooms in MPS. Somebody needs to show him the list of
800 empty classrooms that the district published last spring - that was the
list that had over fifty 'empty' classrooms at the Andersen complex, 27 at
Sullivan, and 17 at South where there were a couple of teachers working from
carts.
What does Pawlenty know about the details of the MPS that have eluded
the administration ; they've recently hired a consultant to check the
facilities and verify just how many empty classrooms there really are and
where they are.
Seems to me that there are those that just want to close some schools in
Minneapolis and move some teachers around even though they don't have a plan
about what to do next or even any details about why some schools are being
closed and why teachers are being moved.
Everybody gets it that MPS enrollment is dropping and the state and feds
are sending less money to the district. That does not necessarily mean that
the next right thing to do is close schools.
If there aren't enough kids to fill the school, close the empty
classroom doors, turn off the lights and heat, stop emptying those
classrooms' trash cans. Layoff the extra teachers, put the principals,
nurses, social workers, engineers, band teachers, etc, on wheels and let as
many kids as possible stay put.
Thinking that if that school over there gets closed it will be better for
this school over here is embarrassingly short sighted.
Empty, boarded up schools are more expensive than empty classrooms.
Dan McGuire
Ericsson
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