Montessori school eyes third floor at Washington

Discovery Woods Montessori School organizers believe they have found the perfect spot to locate their new charter school next fall:

One floor above the Brainerd School District board room.

Organizers of the proposed Montessori-based elementary charter school have requested to lease space on the third floor at Washington Educational Services Building to operate the school there.

The kindergarten through sixth-grade school is proposed to serve 76 students next fall, 120 students the second year and 144 students the third year. The school has a sponsor and has received preliminary approval by the state Department of Education to open next fall.

The Brainerd School Board Facilities Committee Thursday discussed the request for a three-year lease from Discovery Woods organizers. No decisions were made and no action was taken.

Steve Lund, director of business services, said he and Discovery Woods board chair Courtney Neifert spent time going over the costs to bring that space up to code and for how much the district would lease the space to the school. Charter schools are not allowed to own property and any renovations made at Washington would have to be paid for by the district and charged back to the charter school over the course of the three-year lease, said Lund.

Lund said some of those rooms are being leased now and those tenants would have to be relocated elsewhere in the building.

Lund said the charter school would be interested in leasing five classrooms and an office space the first year, increasing to seven classrooms by the third year. The bathrooms on that floor would need to be made handicapped accessible and pavement would have to be added on the east side for a bus stop. The school would like to lease shared spaces, including the cafeteria, the gymnasium and the playground. A part-time custodian, which would increase from .4 full-time-equivalent to .75 FTE by the third year, would need to be hired by the district to maintain that space.

Lund said the total lease payments, including amortized payments for renovations and for leasing the gym and cafeteria, would be $83,870 the first year, $125,217 the second year and $141,234 the third year. Total operating costs, including utility costs, additional custodian and operating costs for gym and cafeteria use, would equal $46,826 the first year, $56,590 the second year and $66,895 the third year.

The total estimated costs to the charter school that would by paid to the district would be $130,696 next year, $181,807 the second year and $208,129 the third year.

Neifert, along with Chuck Marohn, a Montessori organizer, told board members Thursday that those costs fit into the school's budget.

Board member Jim Hunt said he had a philosophical concern with the district leasing space to a charter school.

"We're kind of in competition," said Hunt. "We're basically allowing 100-plus kids to move from our system to a charter system and we're losing those kids. I have a concern about that as we go through with this."

Superintendent Steve Razidlo told the board that he's heard of other districts, notably the St. Paul School District, that host a charter school within its own school system, thus retaining those student aid dollars.

"It may be worth your while, as a school board, to at least extend a directive to us that we look into charter-like schools, whether Montessori or other approaches, within our public school system," said Razidlo. "It's a possibility that is intriguing. ... state revenue would not leave the district."

"That means we could, under that concept, run a Montessori school ourselves?," questioned board chair Kent Montgomery.

Marohn told the board that Discovery Woods and its supporters view this venture as collaborative in nature with the school district.

"Every student we take in will ultimately become a Brainerd Warrior," said Marohn.

"I hope you don't see this as competitive," added Neifert. "I think it benefits the educational system in the area overall. Students will come from private, public, homeschooling - it can only benefit the community."

Lund said if all the students who attend the Montessori school would be Brainerd students the potential funding loss to the district would be $392,934 the first year it is open, $669,626 the second year and $773,899 the third year.

Lund said the maximum potential net revenue for the district from the lease proposal for Discovery Woods would be $64,611 the first year, $77,407 the second year and $91,868 the third year.

Board member Tom Haglin noted that there could be additional risk to the district if the renovations were made and the charter school wasn't successful.

Neifert, contacted after the meeting, said it is her understanding that a school district could not start its own charter school and she has never had a discussion with the school district about a partnership or the district taking the lead on the Montessori school. She said she and the other charter school supporters are waiting for the state to approve its sponsor, the Audubon Center of the North Woods in Sandstone. It could take until March or May to receive this approval but Neifert said the organization already sponsors 23 other charter schools so she doesn't see why approval won't be granted.

Neifert said she began researching whether Washington would be a good site for Discovery Woods in December after the school board determined it wouldn't be a good option for them to help alleviate projected elementary enrollment growth. She said the school does have other options but this is the preferred option.

She said Discovery Woods would find another location after its lease is up in three years but in the meantime it would provide the district with additional revenue and pay for building upgrades that could be utilized by the district if more students were relocated there in the future.

"It seems like the best space for the community," said Neifert. "It's already built to be a school. It's under-utilized space and would require very few renovations."

Board members asked administrators to bring back to the board information on the district's own needs and Razidlo was asked to find out more on whether the district could operate a charter school.

JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.