FAIR School Crystal Students Hold Walkout To Protest Possible Program Closure
Students staged a walk-out on Thursday at FAIR School Crystal in protest of the possibility their school could be repurposed.
They left their classes in the early afternoon, but stayed inside the building.
The revelation that the school would change as they know it came only days earlier, as the school board continues to contemplate ways to reduce its debt and expenditures.
Board members voted on Monday to add FAIR School Crystal to an existing list of schools that could close or be used in a different way.
Meanwhile, parents held a mostly silent protest outside the school.
Marci Stein, president of the PTO at Fair School Crystal, said she felt “shock, rage and sadness, because this came out of nowhere. They brought this up on Monday with no warning.”
Her daughter was one of the students that organized the protest.
“They decided in this short amount of time that they needed to organize,” she said. “All of the seventh graders we’re like, ‘we’re doing this, and this is what we’re going to do: we’re all going to wear black, and we’re all going to meet and gather together and we’re going to sing the school song.”
Some of the parents at the protest said they’re not sure they can trust the district moving forward.
“Just them doing this, just out of nowhere, making decisions like this with no discussion, no reasons given, explanations why they want to do this — that is going to cause families to already decide to leave, because they’re losing trust,” said Karin Tungseth, FAIR School Crystal PTO secretary.
School Closures Move Forward, FAIR Crystal Faces Significant Change
The protest comes as the Robbinsdale Area School Board is moving ahead with plans to shutter several of its schools.
The district is facing about $11 million in debt and needs to give the Minnesota Department of Education a plan to right the ship in early January.
If no schools are closed, the district’s debt is projected to balloon to $38 million by the 2028-29 school year.
According to the district, the board is considering closing the magnet program at FAIR School Crystal. Current students in the program would move to either Plymouth Middle School or Sandburg Middle School.
That said, the existing FAIR Crystal building would stay open, and become the new home for FAIR Pilgrim Lane Elementary, which is currently located in Plymouth.
If this plan moves forward, the FAIR Pilgrim Lane building would be shuttered.
Students staged a walk-out on Thursday at FAIR School Crystal in protest of the potential repurposing of their school.
Other Potential Closures
The district is considering the closure of several elementary and middle schools.
Outside of FAIR Pilgrim Lane, two of the following elementary schools could also potentially close: Sonnesyn Elementary, Neill Elementary, Noble Elementary and Lakeview Elementary.
At the middle school level, Robbinsdale Middle School — along with FAIR School Crystal — are being considered for closure or repurposing.
The district’s main administrative building is also likely to close.
Families have a chance to weigh in on the closures at a public hearing.
For all of the closures besides FAIR Crystal and FAIR Pilgrim Lane, a public hearing will be on Monday, Dec. 15.
Speakers are required to give the district notice they intend to speak.
A second hearing will be hosted on Jan. 5 to consider FAIR Crystal and FAIR Pilgrim Lane.
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