Slow down and re-examine, or face a big loss in November.

That was the message delivered to the St. Louis County School Board Wednesday night by about 60 people who attended a meeting on the district’s proposed restructuring plan at the Greenwood Town Hall.

The meeting was dominated by residents of Cook and Tower-Soudan and many argued for a new school, most likely located just east of Cook, to serve students from Orr, Cook, and Tower-Soudan. That proposal, known as Option H, was dismissed by the board early on, but many at the meeting Wednesday called that a mistake. “That’s how we can get this bond passed and provide opportunity for our students,” said Kirsten Reichel, a Greenwood supervisor who organized the special meeting.

Reichel said the meeting was a chance for residents to ask questions and make their case for changes in the board’s current plan, which includes construction of a new school between Cook and Orr, while the facility in Tower-Soudan would be reduced from a K-12 to an elementary school.

Some of the questions were pointed. “How does the board feel about the three school option?” asked Dawn Frazee, a Greenwood resident.

Board chair Bob Larson said the board had spent considerable time weighing all the options. “We’ve spent an awful lot of time seeing where the students are. There’s a reason we put the school where we did,” he said. “At this particular time, we’re looking at the plan that we voted on,” he said.

But Reichel said residents are unhappy with the planned location of the new school. “The board needs to take our concerns into account or I honestly believe this will fail,” she said.

Dena Suihkonen, a Tower resident agreed. “You need to look at it, or as Zelda put it in the paper, Tower’s going to ruin it for everyone.”

Some residents questioned the figures developed by Johnson Controls. Fred Reichel suggested that Johnson Controls left out hundreds of students when it calculated the financial effects of the three-school consolidation, or Option H. “Why was Option H discounted?” he asked.

Superintendent Charles Rick said the estimates included in the option were questionable, but that response raised questions about how accurate any of Johnson Control’s figures might be.

Proponents of Option H suggested a new school site, near the junction of Vermilion Road and County Rd. 115, about four miles east of Cook. Cook resident Greg Burckhardt said land was available near the location and he urged the board to look at the option. “We have to maximize the number of students. Cook, Tower and Orr working together is the answer,” he said.

Carol Green, of Cook, asked if the board would reconsider the issue or if people should just go home.

Board member Gary Rantala said he’d be willing to reconsider under the right circumstances. “If I have enough data that this is educationally, financially, and politically feasible, I will introduce a motion to reconsider,” he said.

Board member Tom Beaudry, of Cook, said he’d also be willing to reconsider.

But Zelda Bruns, of Orr, said a Hwy. 115 site wouldn’t work geographically. “It’s almost 60 miles from Crane Lake to a Hwy. 115 site,” she said. Others challenged her number, arguing it would be closer to 45 miles. Bruns noted that some in the audience had already complained about a lack of trust towards the board. “We have taken a vote and said we believe this is the best option. If we go back and redo it, what does that do to the trust?” she asked.

“Would it be a horrible thing to admit you made a mistake?” asked Green.

Other options proposed

Tower Mayor Steve Abrahamson urged the board to slow the process down to give more time to weigh a variety of different options. “I would urge the board to step back and reconsider. If you go forward as it is, I think it will be a big failure,” he said. But Abrahamson and other Tower-Soudan residents weren’t necessarily supporting a three-school solution, if the school would be located near Cook. The proposed Vermilion Road site is still almost 20 miles from Tower and even further from Soudan. At a meeting with board members in Tower prior to the Greenwood event, Abrahamson and others from the community had told board members any new school would need to be located midway between Cook and Tower in order to attract widespread support in Tower-Soudan. Abrahamson repeated that suggestion at the Greenwood gathering.

Some others didn’t want to see a new school built at all. Kathleen McQuillan cited a number of reasons for renovating the Cook School and bringing students from Tower and Orr there. “I haven’t heard clearly why the Cook School can’t be upgraded,” she said, She noted that Cook has a well-developed infrastructure related to the school, including new athletic facilities, a youth center, the hospital and a pool.

Another Cook area resident took a similar position, arguing that renovating the Cook School would be far less costly than building new.

Some board members suggested the Greenwood meeting wasn’t representative of most voters. “This is 50 or 60 people,” noted Bruns. “There are 2,240 voters in Tower-Soudan, and 1,200 in Cook and 1,200 in Orr. This is a tiny percentage of that,” she said.

“We are the vocal ones,” said Frazee, “and we want a new plan for Tower.”

Burckhardt noted that the people who turn out are the ones that the board needs behind the plan. “We’re the ones you need to sell this thing,” he said.