Minnesota schools finding uses for stimulus funds, even as enrollment falls

(Alberto Quaglia, Flickr)

The stimulus bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives two weeks ago contained $14 billion in funding for school construction. The Senate’s version of the bill, however, stripped a large chunk of the money out.

But the mere fact that billions of dollars are being considered for school construction raises an awkward question: When most school districts in Minnesota are steadily losing enrollment and shuttering schools, why is money being allocated for construction?

Under the House’s proposal, Minneapolis Public Schools would receive $25.9 million in construction funds over the next two years. But as anyone who’s remotely paid attention in recent years knows, the last thing Minneapolis needs is additional schools.

Since 2000, enrollment in the school district has dropped by nearly a third, from 46,000 down to 32,500. Two years ago the district actually shuttered six schools, five of them on the North Side, where the exodus has been particularly steep.

If Minneapolis ultimately receives almost $26 million in construction dollars, it won’t be sending that money back to Washington. But exactly how the school district intends to spend that money is an open question.

According to Emily Lowther, a spokeswoman for the Minneapolis schools, district officials are making plans for the potential funding as part of their standard budget process. But they’re not sharing the details.

“It’s a little too early in the process for us to be comfortable commenting,” says Lowthen. “There’s so many balls up in the air.”

Other districts already have a wish list ready and are waiting. In early 2006 Duluth Public Schools began developing a long-term facilities plan prompted by steady declines in enrollment. In the previous decade the number of students in the district had dropped by 25 percent because of declining population and more educational choices, most notably the increase in charter schools.

After a yearlong process the school district determined that five schools should be closed, while the remaining 13 facilities would need roughly $250 million in improvements to adequately serve the district’s students. Currently the school district has about $200 million worth of projects in the pipeline that it would be more than happy to receive federal money to fund. Lester Park Elementary School, for instance, is being torn down and replaced by a new $17 million facility. Duluth is slated to get $2.9 million under the House proposal.

St. Paul Public Schools is in the midst of going through a similar long-term-planning process. Enrollment declines haven’t been nearly as steep as in Minneapolis (the district is losing about 500 students per year), and no schools have been shuttered in recent years. But the district estimates that its 65 schools are designed to accommodate more than 45,000 students, while current enrollment is roughly 40,000. What’s more, roughly a third of the schools are more than 25 percent below capacity.

A series of community meetings was held in November and December to get feedback on the district’s needs. In March the district will release a plan that is likely to include recommended school closings and facility improvements.

Presumably any federal funds included in the stimulus package would help pay for those changes. Under the House version of the bill, St. Paul would receive $20.8 million for construction.

Whatever the final appropriation for school construction, this much is clear: There’s no shortage of projects to fund.

Photo: Alberto Quaglia, licensed under Creative Commons.