Yesterday Superintendent Dr. Melbye shared via email, that due to ongoing funding challenges, students at Washburn Elementary will be relocated to Normandale Hills, Poplar Bridge and Valley View elementary schools starting next school year. Washburn will cease operating as an elementary school.
This is extremely sad and frustrating news for Washburn Elementary families that will be uprooted and now need to figure out next steps for their children's education.
There were several factors cited, including inflation, evolving student needs, declining enrollment, and expirations of COVID relief funding. These are some of the same factors first cited in Fall 2023 that led to the Right-Sizing the Budget initiative that ratified budget cuts in February 2024 for 2024-25 (https://www.bloomington.k12.mn.us/right-sizing-budget ) school year and identified ongoing budget shortfalls that need to be addressed. It is unclear how much impact there is due to inflation compared to the numbers provided previously for Right-Sizing the Budget. It is also unclear exactly what is meant by evolving student needs, since the historic funding provided by the state legislature in 2023 "primarily addressed shortages school districts have endured covering increasing costs for special education and English language learning programming - otherwise referred to as cross-subsidies", per the Winter 2023-24 School Pages newsletter.
https://www.bloomington.k12.mn.us/.../bps-school-pages...
The district also shared that, in addition to displacing Washburn Elementary, there are a series of budget recommendations being prepared for approval in late October. However, no plans were announced to engage with the community about the recommendations.
The district has invited the community to share comments or questions through email at commrelations@isd271.org.
It is important that they also hear your voice, so please call BPS Community Relations at 952-681-6400 to share your concerns and ask for more transparency and engagement around this decision and other budget recommendations planned for October.
