Info Sessions for Revised Rochester School Plan Start Wednesday

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The community will have a chance to get a closer look at a recently revised attendance plan for the Rochester Public School District (RPS) this week. 

Get our free mobile app

RPS administrators revised the plan last month after the district received a $10 million donation from the Mayo Clinic. The original version of the plan called for implementing cost-cutting measures that would’ve closed three schools and rolled back a host of other offerings within the district. 

The revised proposal, known as the Attendance Options Redesign Plan, 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.  

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, according to a news release issued by RPS in December. 

RPS leaders are hosting a virtual information session that runs from noon until 1 p.m. on Wednesday. Information needed to attend the virtual meeting is available by clicking here. 

There’s also an in-person informational session scheduled for Wednesday night. The meeting runs from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Edison Boardroom at 615 7th St. Southwest in Rochester. 

The RPS School Board is set to formally take up the plan on Jan. 9. Board members will then examine the proposal during a Jan. 16 study session before putting it to a vote on Jan. 23.  

Although the large donation prevented the district from enacting cuts for the next school year, RPS is still likely to face a financial shortfall in the future. 

Last month Superintendent Kent Pekel indicated another referendum could be on the ballot for this year’s election saying, “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.” 

The parameters of the potential referendum are not yet available.

More Minnesota News:

• Smoky Stove Prompts Early-Morning Response from Rochester Firefighters
• Son Severely Wounds Father in Southern Minnesota Shooting
• New Minnesota Gun Law Now in Effect