Duluth school district troubled by downward enrollment

Jana Hollingsworth:

Anna Cook chose online education for her 7-year-old daughter this fall after an unhappy year at Lincoln Park Elementary School, where she said overwhelmed teachers and bullying made traditional school seem like "chaos."

"I didn't feel like my child was in a safe situation there," Cook said. "All I could do was get her out of there."

Cook is part of a steady stream of people choosing to leave the district. As the School Board prepares to cut $7.3 million from its budget, partly because of declining enrollment, it's taking a look Tuesday at that number, along with where the students are going and how to get them back.

Red Plan opponents have long said angry families are sending their students in droves to neighboring districts because of the plan. But Cook's story shows there are a variety of reasons families are seeking education elsewhere, including more choice, smaller class sizes and fresh starts.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 7, 2011 1:50 AM
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