Parents Gear Up for Fight With Eden Prairie School Board
In February, the Eden Prairie school board approval a facilities plan to rework which buildings held which grade levels. Over the next 5 years, the model in Eden Prairie will change from a K-4 and a 5-6 model to a K-6 model. The School Board Chairwoman, Kim Ross, claims this plan is the result of 2 years worth of study.
Unfortunately, many parents in the Eden Prairie school district believe there is political motivation to this change and that this supposed “study” never asked the parents or students what they thought. Many feel like the plans were already set when they were presented at the February 23rd meeting and they were given little notice to get involved in the decision making process. These parents, who call themselves the Eden Prairie Taxpayers have already collected 500 signatures to present to the board at the May 31 meeting. The parents are concerned that these changes will have the following impacts on Eden Prairie:
- They are concerned that these changes will have a negative impact on the district’s financial situation, which currently on rocky ground, in an already bad economy. The parents also believe that these changes will negatively affect the property values of their Eden Prairie Homes. The cost of the conversion is estimated at between $120k-$1 million. Some parents are concerned about the wide range of the estimate and lack of detail around the costs.
- The school district has hinted at a Eden Prairie real estate tax levy increase to support the schools. Most parents see this project as a way to justify increasing the schools budget, but with little or no resulting improvement in education, but simply more costs, more staff, and more overhead.
- By combining the 5 & 6 graders back into the K-4 student, many parents are concerned about their younger kids being intimidated or picked on by the older kids. There is a large difference between a 6th grader and a 2nd grader both in physical stature as well as maturity.
- Off the record, some parents feel that the Spanish immersion program, which will take over the Oak Point Intermediate building, is a pet project of a few members of the school board and that is why this agenda is being pushed so hard. While popular, many parents do not think this program should force the change of the makeup of all the schools.
- Lastly, the plans to make the change were discussed and approved with almost no comprehensive plan on how these changes were going to be implemented. This left many parents of 4 graders wondering if they were staying at their current school or moving on to the intermediate school next year. The board was unable (or unwilling) to even answer simple questions like that. School boundaries have not been drawn out yet, which leave other parents wondering if their children may go to another school than their sibling.
Other Eden Prairie parents have organized virtually on Facebook. You can find them at a Facebook group called “Eden Prairie School Board Accountability”. That groups membership has swelled to over 200 members in just the short time it has been on-line.
While it is unlikely that the school board will reverse its decision (or even consider the motion), the parents feel it is important to let their elected leaders know that they are not happy with what this proposal entails or how it was decided.
I am a licensed Realtor in the State of Minnesota. This website is not a multiple listing service, but each Minnesota & Minneapolis real estate agent is a member of the Regional MLS of MN, inc., a provider of the Minnesota MLS.
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