The Red Plan Koolaid maintains that new schools will bring students into our schools. In fact, Ordean High will be built 20% than necessary for existing students so that there will be room for them when they return.
You don’t have to look far to see that this is fools gold.
Exhibit #1. Stowe School. Its one of the newest schools in the District. Its in Gary New Duluth a stones throw from the farthest western neighborhood Fondulac. And yet long ago when I was on the School Board or maybe even before that some children from Fondulac decided to take the bus to the Wrenshall School District. More of their neighborhood friends followed them despite the new school. Today 36 attend Wrenshall apparently there is no desire to come back to the shiny new school.
Exhibit #2. All four charter schools are in old buildings. Edison Washburn and Kenwood are in a old schools abandoned by the School District. Edison Raleigh is in an abandoned old Catholic School. Despite all the new building plans the Edison schools grew by about 80 this year and look to increase again by that same amount next year. The fourth Charter is a secondary school in an old plumbing supply school in the warehouse District by Michigan Ave.
Exhibit #3. Parochial schools are not new and are enjoying enrollment increases.
Exhibit #4. Marshall School is not a new school but it has added a new section of fifth graders this year.
Finally here’s exhibit #5 which I’ve been skeptical of. Some of the Red Plan’s naysayers have said that in the new Internet world more children would be studying online which requires no schools. I just read a this tonight and it seems to confirm these predictions.
“I work for a university in the online learning department and there is a wall coming down in my office today. We moved once 2 years ago to accommodate our size, and today there is a wall coming down so that we can continue to grow (the store next door went out of business). We are hiring staff and making money. In every meeting I attend, there is talk of change and growth and how we can be better. There is no mention of cutting costs or downsizing or layoffs. It certainly looks like adult learners are choosing online to finish their degrees.”
Judging by the Wrenshall example, once we lose our students we’ve probably lost them forever.
