2004 School Closing Plans

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Departments</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id298.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Minneapolis News archives"><U>Minneapolis News</U></A>  </div> <div> <A HREF="id198.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="from the mpls issues list"><U>Mpls Issues List</U></A></div> <div> <B>Topic</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id472.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Topic: Minneapolis Public Schools"><U>Minneapolis Public Schools</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Mann for School Board </B></FONT>    |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mann for School Board "><U>home</U></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> 2004 School Closing Plans</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.startribune.com/stories/1592/4733697.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.startribune.com/stories/1592/"><U><B><U>Minneapolis school vision still in the distance</U></B></U></A></div> <div> By Steve Brandt, 21 April 2004, Star-Tribune </div> <bR> <div> Hey Minneapolis, remember that invitation from the school board to join discussions this month and next on where the city schools ought to be headed? Most of you likely will have to wait until this summer or fall. That's the recommendation of a team of would-be consultants to the district. ..</div> <div> ..."Basically, they don't want any public input," said Doug Mann, a past and current school board candidate who has been critical of board efforts. "I think they're afraid of encountering opposition to the proposals..."</div> <bR> <div> <B>Consultants Urge MPLS Schools to Delay Public Input</B></div> <div> by Dr. Vinny, Founder & Publisher, <A HREF="http://southhighsucks.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://southhighsucks.com"><U>southhighsucks.com</U></A></div> <bR> <div> Dr Vinney notes: "The consultants want to first assemble a 'targeted' </div> <div> (aka "politically connected") group of people to [create] by June a rough draft of what the community thinks the schools ought to be like. That rough draft would be used to interview Superintendent candidates in late May or June...[and later] would be used to start a "broader community discussion" of "values" which could be used to create a "vision" for the Minneapolis Public Schools."</div> <bR> <div> Note by Doug Mann: Meanwhile Superintendent Jennings will be working behind the scenes to amend and repackage his original reorganization / downsizing plan. The consultants will help the superintendent and board of directors to design a guided facilitation process that will: 1) buy them some time,  and 2) validate the course they have already decided to pursue.  </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id308.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Minneapolis School Closings"><U><B>Minneapolis School Closings</B></U></A><B> (open letter)</B></div> <div> Superintentent Jennings and school board members,</div> <div> <I><B>(April 2004?)</B></I></div> <bR> <div> In her latest Strib Opinion piece, Ms. Johnson [a school board member] </div> <div> praises Mr. Jennings' bold leadership, and implicitly supports his reorganization plan, his proposal to eliminate teacher tenure rights, and the sponsorship of more charter schools, which will help to draw down enrollment in the district's own schools...</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id314.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Werewolves Silver Bullets"><U><B>Werewolves & Silver Bullets</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>Is it possible to turn around the Minnespolis Public Schools?</B></div> <div> by Doug Mann, 16 April 2004</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id362.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reasons to Keep Pratt Community School O"><U><B>Reasons to Keep Pratt School Open as a District- Run School</B></U></A></div> <div> Pratt School demonstrates how small elementary schools can cost less to run than the big ones, especially if 'untracked.'  If schools must be closed, close some of the big, prison-like schools.  </div> <div> by Doug Mann, 27 July 2004</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Re: mpls Who made the decision to close "><U><B>Re: [mpls] Who made the decision to close schools and why?</B></U></A></div> <div> by Doug Mann, 24 July 2004</div> </td> </tr></table></body>