Rochester City Council Still Lukewarm With School Proposal

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - No change in their positions. That was the end result of Monday’s Rochester City Council discussion of a proposal from Rochester Public Schools.

RPS has been looking at a site along 40th St SW for a new middle school. Future plans for the site could include a high school and elementary school.

The council has been reluctant to support the proposal because it doesn’t conform with long-term development goals for that part of the city. And that reluctance was still there during Monday’s meeting. Staff concerns have also focused on traffic impacts and the cost of added infrastructure.

The city has proposed working with RPS in evaluating other sites. But an RPS consultant told the council this site is deemed the best for a new middle school. He said city growth would determine when a high school and elementary school would be built at the site.

RPS Superintendent Michael Munoz told the council the November referendum dealing with overcrowding that will be decided by voters does not specify where a new school would be built.

No formal decisions were made at Monday’s meeting and more staff discussions about the RPS proposal are expected.

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