Little Falls School District Grapples with Idea of Closing Dr. Knight Elementary

Little Falls Community Schools will have to address a major budget issue in the near future, with one of the proposed options being closing an elementary school in the city of Randall.

Dr. S.G. Knight Elementary has been the subject of debate in the district for many months. Earlier this month, parents and students took to the streets of Randall to protest the possibility of the school being shut down.

“The school is being presented as though it’s a drain on the district resources when in fact it’s just overall issues that are going on, such as enrollment,” said Jessie Crosby, a mother of students at Dr. Knight. “We have a lot of kids in other districts. There’s some things that should be fixed, but it’s the school that’s kind of taking the brunt of it. So, some teachers are being cut. The school is potentially going to be closed, which should be [a] last resort.”

Little Falls Community Schools will fall into statutory operating debt if they do not determine a long-term plan for cutting costs in the district. One of the proposed methods of cutting back includes closing Dr. Knight.

“So the past two years, Little Falls Schools has made $3 million in budget reductions. We’re making $400,000 in cuts for next year,” explained superintendent Greg Johnson. “And we know that if we don’t do something, our budget forecast in the next three years is projected probably close to a $3 to $4 million deficit.”

According to the district, the only other feasible option to sustain its finances would come through an operating levy, which would increase taxes for all residents in the district. But the superintendent doesn’t believe the support is there to pass a referendum to keep the school open.

“There appears to be a comfort level of about a $10-per-month increase,” Johnson continued. “Just recently after those survey results, we looked at what would be the tax impact if we ran an operating levy. And looking at what our proposed budget is with the deficit and our fund balance needs, it would take a significantly high referendum operating levy to be able to address our needs, which would have a significant tax impact, much higher than that $10 a month.” continued Johnson.

Little Falls Schools explored shifting to four-day school weeks, selling vacant property, and cutting positions in the district offices. But for Johnson, closing Dr. Knight seems to be the only realistic way to keep the district afloat.

“Outside of an operating levy from our taxpayers that I don’t feel has the potential to pass because of how large it would need to be, as difficult as closing the school would be, I really believe that that is the best way for us to maintain that financial sustainability and still offer high-quality [programming] for our students across District 482,” he said.

The school board will meet next Tuesday to set a date for a public hearing and the subsequent vote on the future of Dr. Knight Elementary.