The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

March 18, 2009

Amboy school to close

Maple River faces enrollment declines

By Tanner Kent

MAPLETON — In an emotional 4-3 vote, the Maple River School Board voted to close the Amboy school site at the end of this school year.

The closing came during a special meeting held in the AAA Gym at Maple River High School. With the Maple River School District facing a $1.2 million budget reduction for the 2009-10 school year, Supt. Willis Schobe said closing the building will alleviate nearly the full amount.

But the tone of the meeting was decidedly somber as several board members detailed their thoughts before taking a roll-call vote. In favor were Joe Samuelson, Mark Beyer, Karl Duncanson and Colette Drager. In opposition were Emily Sieberg, Patti Uhrich and Scott Ostermann.

“This is a very tough decision,” said Duncanson to those in attendance before adding later: “We have to do what we have to do. If we’re not fiscally responsible now, we could end up in even worse shape.”

During the 2001-02 school year, enrollment in the Maple River School District topped 1,300 students. Schobe said projections are forecasting slightly more than 1,100 for the 2009-10 school year.

If each student draws about $5,200 in revenue from state funding — in reality, per-student revenue is weighted based on grade level and other economic and academic factors — then the district has lost more than $1 million in revenue due to its recent enrollment decline.

Sieberg said she was worried that a school closing would only exacerbate the decline if families decided to open enroll elsewhere.

“I’m not in favor of choosing to decrease our student population,” she told board members.

With the Amboy school closed, the Mapleton facility will now house high school and middle school for the entire district. Minnesota Lake and Good Thunder will retain K-5 facilities.

The Amboy facility will, however, continue to house the community’s Early Childhood and Family Education program for the near future.

The board’s alternative to closing the facility was keeping it open as a sixth-grade center. Even with that reduced capacity, however, the board would still have needed to institute a four-day school week, make significant changes to the kindergarten program and eliminate middle-school athletics to balance the budget.

“The board felt that, rather than get into those alternatives, it would be better to shut down a facility,” Schobe said.

Schobe also said that the district must notify teachers of staffing changes by June 1. Many, but not all, staff from the Amboy site will be incorporated into other buildings. Schobe said the district will form transition teams at the beginning of the summer to ensure a smooth process.

The Amboy school serves more than 120 students with 24 staff members.

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