Frequently Asked Questions

Northwest Property

This property, currently owned by the District, is known as the Schmidt Park area, just south of Overland Drive NW. This land is approximately a 32 acres, with 16 acres owned by RPS and 16 acres owned by the city of Rochester. RPS and the city will collaborate to preserve green space and park area around the new elementary school area.

An Op-Ed published in the Post-Bulletin on October 5, 2019 summarizes the middle school location selection process and how the District was able to run the referendum without having a specific location identified. District and City staff continue to meet regularly. The District's goal is to seek approval on the SW property from the City Council in the near future.

Op-Ed as published in the Post-Bulletin:

"Rochester Public Schools (RPS) is running a referendum this fall to address overcrowding in their elementary and middle schools, increase school safety, and improve educational support spaces in the middle and high schools. 

I became involved in the District's referendum process in May 2018, when RPS brought CRW Architecture and us, LHB, onboard to lead a facilities task force. We reviewed multiple data sets for months, which included the District's facilities assessment and 10-year maintenance plan, capacity data, past growth, and student growth projections based on a District housing study. 

The data demonstrated the District's middle schools were operating at 99% capacity, and elementary schools were operating at 98% capacity. The task force recommended a solution for the overcrowding to the School Board in November 2018. I am going to focus specifically on the middle school solution in this letter. The group recommended building a new 1200 student capacity middle school in SW Rochester.

The District used criteria for selecting a new middle school site that included: 

• District and building boundaries 
• Capacities of current middle schools
• Student enrollment based on existing housing
• Student demographics such as socioeconomic status
• Distance from other middle schools
• Walk barriers
• Vehicle circulation 
• Minnesota Department of Education's land size recommendations 
• Topography 

With the above criteria in mind, the District entered into a purchase agreement with a landowner in SW Rochester near Hart Farm. The deal is contingent on two factors. First, the referendum must pass. Second, approval from the City or County to construct a new middle school. If the referendum does not pass, or if the City or County does not allow construction on this site, the District will withdraw from the purchase agreement. They will not lose any money and will have the earnest money refunded to them. 

RPS has been collaborating with City departments throughout the referendum process. Together, we continue to have productive conversations regarding a middle school location. RPS can run their referendum without identifying a specific middle school site. This was recently reinforced with approval of the review and comment document filed with the Minnesota Department of Education. I am confident that the District will find a site that meets the student and District needs as well as the City's comprehensive plan. 

The middle school location discussions have prompted a few inquiries about existing sites or structures. Vacant buildings, such as the ShopKo building, are not conducive to the education of students for several reasons. The State of Minnesota enforces specific health and safety codes for public schools. Also, the Minnesota Department of Education has specific physical recommendations for structures intended for educating students. The costs to retrofit these buildings and add additions to include necessities such as a kitchen, lunchroom, gymnasium, classrooms, and green space would cost more than building a new facility. In addition, it would likely cost more to operate annually and achieve lower student test scores. If the building is in the wrong geographical area, it will not help the District address it's problem of overcrowded schools, and it would likely create other student inequities.

Thanks to the work of the facilities task force, consultants, and an engaged community offering valuable feedback, the District is moving into the final weeks before November 5 with a thoughtful plan to address current overcrowding and anticipated future growth. With the successful passage of this referendum, a new middle school will open in the fall of 2022 in a location that will serve students' needs for 75+ years."

Kevin Holm is a licensed architect and LEED Accredited professional that has been designing and planning PreK-12 buildings for over 20 years. He focuses on research-based design and fact-based planning through District and community engagement.

Programming decisions will be made after the referendum passes. However, the current recommendation by the Facilities Task Force is to move the Montessori program from Franklin Elementary to Hoover Elementary School. This would address a portion of the overcrowding issues in Southeast Rochester. This would mean that the Hoover Elementary Building would then be used for a Montessori program, as well as the Early Learning School. This would also mean that Churchill Elementary, which is currently a kindergarten through second grade school, would become a K-5 walk-only, neighborhood school.

All four middle schools (Willow Creek, Kellogg, John Adams, and the new middle school if the referendum passes) would be neighborhood schools. Conversations continue regarding placement of students who qualify for Highly Gifted Services and repurposing the Friedell building for other District programs.

Yes. 

The District will adjust boundaries beginning in the 2022-2023 school year. The 2022-2023 school year is the year that the buildings would be open for our students. 

The District's goal is to provide a recommendation on boundary changes to the school board in September 2021, which would be one year in advance of the boundary changes taking effect in September 2022. Boundary decisions have not been made at this time. The Facilities Task Force proposed boundaries earlier in the referendum process (late fall 2018) as a concept. These are not final boundaries. The referendum must pass before the District can begin conversation about 2022-2023 boundaries. There will be opportunities for community input, once we get to that point. 

The district (RPS) is balancing the efficiencies of building size and some public opinion for small schools. In many districts across the nation and in Minnesota, elementary school facilities are being designed for more than 1,200 students. RPS already has five elementary schools that serve 720 or more students. These schools continue to receive positive feedback from parents and students. In RPS buildings of 720+ students, each grade level has 4 to 5 classes (or sometimes called sections), all meeting the class size targets. The RPS School Board has set class size targets. Overall building capacity would change if the district modifies student class sizes in the future. A 720-capacity building physically maximizes the flexibility for the district in the future as education (and the delivery of teaching) evolves.

The Rochester School Board approved the following class size targets in 2010 to accommodate operational costs and the increase in student population. Kindergarten target size is 20, 1^st Grade is 24, 2^nd and 3^rd is 29 and 4^th and 5^th is 31. If a grade population at a building exceeds those sizes by a few students, a classroom and additional teacher are allocated for an additional section, if there is a room available. With smaller schools there is less flexibility to balance class size, and in growing district, schools are frequently at the maximum class size or slightly over due to lack of space and or prohibitive operational costs for additional teachers.

The safety of our students and staff will always remain a top priority for RPS. In most, if not all cases, students will continue to attend their elementary school while construction occurs on the other side of the physical site. The district has successfully executed construction projects with this similar model in the past, most specifically with the full addition to Hoover Elementary School during the 2017-2018 school year. As with any other construction project, RPS follows very strict protocol on construction sites so that our students and staff will not be in harm’s way. Because this is a multiple year process, prior to June 2022, the existing building would be demolished and the remaining site work would occur prior the start of school in the fall of 2022.

The plan should provide capacity for 7-10 years at the PreK-8 grades, based on the current capacity model. If student growth exceeds the projected model, it is likely that the district will need an additional high school as well as other facilities in the future. The Facilities Task Force and District focused on balancing future community and student growth with current operational costs and budgets.

Question 2 proposed the District close all middle school pools, and build/operate three pools that meet regulations for competitions, including diving competitions, at the three comprehensive high schools only. 

High School Pool Information:

Currently, Rochester Public Schools has one swimming pool that meets regulatory depth compliance and national safety standards for diving. This pool is located at John Marshall High School. The Mayo High School pool is not deep enough to meet safety and regulatory diving standards. Century High School does not have a swimming pool. 

Middle School Pool Information:

The District has three aging pools at the middle school level; Willow Creek, John Adams, and Kellogg. The middle school pools are in need of numerous updates and repairs, in addition to general annual operation costs. After reviewing the District's long-term facility maintenance plan, it would be more cost effective to close the middle school pools and operate only three pools district-wide at the three comprehensive high schools. 

This is possible. RPS would need to bus  students to the high schools, but this cost would be lower than the costs to operate and upgrade the current middle school pool facilities.

Harriet Bishop and Longfellow Elementary Schools will retain the same names. At this time, there are no new names for the elementary school for the elementary school at Schmidt Park or the new middle school.