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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981 12-01 Council upset over plan to close Harmony School THE REVIEW Council upset over plan to close Harmony' School • By Scott Carlson ■■ night. ' School Board is zeroing in on Maplewood is where there's de- 4 Staff Writer ee Prior to the meeting,emotions Maplewood all the time.' dining student enrollment. a were running high. Gladstone and Hazelwood Ele- "If the decline is occurring in C1 It's called Harmony Elemen- "It seems all the school dos- mentary Schools and Hillside the northwest area that's where yN tary School. It seems all the school closings are ings are in Maplewood,"Mayor Junior High School,which are all we have to look for a closing," �' But the name seems ironic in Maplewood.Why ale they pick- fig John Greavu complained last in Maplewood have been closed said Madly);Vars,a Maplewood Q week."Wh are theypickingon by the School Board in recent now that the Maplewood Council ing on Maplewood? ' resident who served on the is enmeshed in a controversy Maplew o years• board's school closing advisory % over the school's fate in North —Mayor John Greavu "We don't have anything west But school officials reject any committee. t. St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale of White Bear Avenue except for claims that Maplewood is stiffer- \ School District 622. ,` John Glenn Junior High," ing unfair treatment. Instead, Please see Harmony/2E • \--.. Some City Council members I I Greavu added."There are more !1 are upset that a School District people in Maplewood with kids y advisory committee is recom- County Road C. That would In an effort to stem any ill will than in North St.Paul." Q mending the closing of Harmony mean losing a third Maplewood the School Board planned to Colleague Earl Nelson admit- School,White Bear Avenue and grade school,they said. meet with the council Monday ted,"It seems to people that the Tuesday, Dec. 1, 1981 Harmony a Continued from Page 1 E rIP Mrs. Vars explained that 10 criteria were given numerical values and then applied to each one of the district's elementary ,, schools.The criteria included the adequacy of each school's physi- cal facilities and anticipated growth in its area. Harmony School, she noted, emerged first for closing. Said Greavu, "I don't think Juker Nelson they are taking everything into the Harmony School area, she consideration." said. Councilwoman Fran Juker agreed. "Some projects are at a standstill because of financial "I think the School District is considerations," Mrs. Juker con- acting very premature in closing tinued. "But once the interest our school,"she said. rates go down you're going to see Mrs. Juker noted she expects development immmediately." to see 1,500 housing units built But Mrs. Vars defended the throughout the city. Some of the committee's criteria for school plans, for projects with 25 or closings. more units, are in the drawing "We worked long and hard on stage while others are already the criteria," Mrs. Vars said. "If under construction. the Maplewood Council feels they can come up with more le- Further, there are plans to gitimate criteria I challenge build at least 28 housing units in them to do that."