Carlton, Wrenshall school survey coming soon

The Carlton and Wrenshall school boards will be reaching out to residents of both school districts in the coming weeks to gather input regarding school district consolidation.

Both school districts have significant facility needs and residents from both districts — including the Community Advisory Committee formed by the Carlton district in 2017 — have previously encouraged both school boards to explore consolidation.

The survey will ask residents to weigh in on consolidation as well as a proposed two-site consolidated school option that leaves one school open in each district, with a secondary school in Wrenshall and an elementary school at Carlton’s South Terrace.

Every household will receive a paper survey in the mail during the week of Jan. 6. Residents can either complete the paper survey and mail it back to School Perceptions in the envelope provided, or take the survey at the website listed on the survey. The survey data is regulated by a survey access code that is provided on the mailed survey. If a household would like a second survey for another adult in their household, they can call their district office and a second survey will be mailed out.

“Our goal in conducting the survey is to get the feedback from both of our communities,” Carlton superintendent Gwen Carman said. “This is an important decision that will impact our districts for decades, so we want to ensure that every citizen has a voice in the process.”

To assist with data-gathering efforts, the school board is working with School Perceptions, an independent firm with expertise in conducting school district surveys. All survey data is returned to School Perceptions and all responses will remain anonymous.

“The survey will help us to quantify the level of support we have in each community for the proposed plan,” said Wrenshall superintendent Kim Belcastro. “This is important data for both school boards as we plan for the future.”