RPS Board To Get Additional Info on Plan for Rochester's Schools

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Rochester School Board is set to get additional information about the district’s Attendance Options Redesign Plan for the next school year.

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The plan has undergone dramatic changes since it was first introduced to the board last November. Those changes were prompted by a multi-million dollar donation from Mayo Clinic.

The public got its chance to view and comment on the newly revised plan during a virtual and in-person informational session. On Tuesday the Rochester School Board will have a chance to discuss those comments as well as other feedback board members have gotten from their constituents.

Rochester Public Schools

The agenda item for the study session indicates the input will be included in “additional information” regarding the plan. The item does not illustrate any changes to the updated plan.

Kim David TSM

During a Jan. 9 meeting the school board voted to formally accept the $10 million donation from Mayo Clinic.

The revised proposal calls for moving Pinewood Elementary into the Longfellow School building. The 45/15 schedule at Longfellow would continue while the district would add a traditional schedule offering at Longfellow.

RPS/Google

The Mighty Oaks Early Learning School would then occupy the building that houses Pinewood Elementary. The Lincoln K-8 school would stay where it is instead of moving into the building that Riverside Elementary currently occupies.

The previous proposal presented to the school board before Mayo’s donation called for closing Pinewood and Riverside Elementary Schools, and Mighty Oaks Early Learning School and taking other cost-cutting measures.

Rochester Superintendent Kent Pekel had previously stated of the donation, “We are grateful beyond belief for this gift from Mayo Clinic, which provides us with a bridge to the referendum that I will recommend that the RPS School Board put on the ballot in 2024 to provide our system with the stable funding we need to meet the high educational expectations that the citizens of Rochester have for our students and our schools.”

Pekel. Rochester Public Schools

The parameters of the potential referendum have not yet been presented to the board.

The study session begins at 5:30 on Tuesday. Board Members are set to vote on implementing the plan on Jan. 23.

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