If voters fail to pass a $78.8 million bond issue, School District 2142 will not survive.

That was the conclusion of school board members who met in a study session on Wednesday to discuss a backup plan in case the bond issue is rejected.

“There is no other solution,” said Darrell Bjerklie, who represents the Cherry attendance area. He predicted that the district would be forced to close some of its schools immediately to keep afloat financially. “It won’t matter which ones because the others will be closed in short order,” said Bjerklie, who said the ultimate outcome will be the dissolution of the district.

School Board Chairman Bob Larson shared that view. “We’ve got to pass it (the bond issue),” he said. “There is no other option.”

But Andy Larson, who represents the Tower-Soudan attendance area and opposes the realignment plan, disagreed. “I don’t think dissolution is an option,” he said, adding that board members were not honestly seeking alternatives. “You’ve got your mind made up already.”

Challenged to present some solutions, Andy Larson suggested creating a new school between Ely, Babbitt and Tower as one possible alternative. But other board members countered that discussions with Ely had failed to produce such a merger and argued a deal could still be pursued after the district was restructured.

Consequences

The study session began with board members outlining the problems facing the district, and weighing their options if the bond issue fails and the possible consequences.

Business Manager Kim Johnson said the district is on a pathway to statutory operating debt as it quickly eats up its reserves. Deficit spending in 2008-09 reduced reserves from $5.4 million to $3.4 million and the district projects the reserves will fall to $2.6 million by the end of the current school year. By fiscal year 2011, the district will be in statutory operating debt if dramatic changes don’t occur, Johnson concluded.

Superintendent Charles Rick said the district does not want to get into SOD. “To climb our way out of SOD, we cannot sustain seven schools,” he said. “It’s a terrible option.”

The district says it realignment plan would restore financial stability by combining students in fewer schools, resulting in staff reductions that would save about $4 million. Additional savings would be generated by reducing operational costs, bringing the total to just over $5 million. The plan calls for closing schools in Cook, Orr, AlBrook and Cotton and reducing Tower to an elementary school only. Two new schools would be built in the north and south sections of the district to serve those populations while Tower secondary students would have the option of attending school in the new school in the north or a remodeled Babbitt-Embarrass.

Should the public reject that plan, the district could either cut costs or generate additional revenue to deal with its deficit spending. Board members concurred that the revenue side of the equation isn’t promising. They don’t expect any additional dollars from state or federal government and they noted the district’s failure to pass an excess operating levy on three consecutive attempts.

That left cutting costs. Johnson said with labor accounting for 75 percent of the district’s expenses, the biggest way to reduce spending would be to close schools. Another option would be to reduce programming, including eliminating sports and other extracurriculars as well as many of the electives being offered.

Either option would likely drive more students to other school districts through open enrollment and diminish the quality of education offered at 2142, board members said.

“We’d be putting our schools on hospice and waiting for cancer to eat us up,” said Gary Rantala, who represents the Babbitt-Embarrass attendance area.

Cook area resident Kirsten Reichel noted that the district’s realignment plan called for closing some schools and placing students in new buildings. She questioned why that plan was preferable to closing some schools and merging students in existing buildings.

Johnson Controls consultant Jeff Schiltz noted that travel distances would be extended for some sites, noting that some were already upset that the proposed site for a new school between Orr and Cook was too far. He added that the district would not get the benefits of more energy efficient and lower maintenance buildings. Under the district’s plan, operating expenses are projected to produce more than $1 million in savings which can be used to enhance curriculum.

Consultant John Powers said principals at the seven schools had been given two options — how they would spend additional dollars for education and how they would trim nearly $600,000 from their budget. Three sites couldn’t even begin to suggest how to cut $600,000 from their budgets, he said, and the other four would have to gut valued programs.

“I don’t see any positive consequences coming out of a ‘no’ vote,” Rick concluded.

Convincing voters

But voters are going to need convincing that the board is on the right path. Several local governments have passed resolutions opposing the district’s plan with the townships of Breitung and Crane Lake joining the fray this week. Crane Lake supervisor Jerry Pohlman said his township’s resolution was based on the decision to locate a new north school just five miles south of Cook. He said residents had been told that the school would be located as close as possible to midway between Cook and Orr to reduce travel time for students from Crane Lake and other outlying areas.

Board member Zelda Bruns said she had received numerous e-mails and phone calls from constituents who were contemplating home-schooling their children because of the new north school site.

Board members said they need to get the word out about the negative consequences of rejecting the bond issue.

Bjerklie said he has been compiling a districtwide list of people willing to assist in a “vote yes” campaign for the bond issue. He said he currently has about 100 names and expects to expand the list to 300.

Rick said he understands some of the resistance to the district’s plan, noting that schools have been an important part of communities for decades and losing a building in a community has both emotional and economical ramifications. But he said that people have to let go of the past and do what’s best for students.

“There is no perfect solution out there,” he said. “What we propose is good, but not perfect.”