Carlton compares Barnum, Wrenshall option

Carlton Schools superintendent Donita Stepan delivered a side-by-side comparison of the two consolidation options facing the district on Tuesday night, with a strong push to pivot to Barnum. It was the first time the board met since Stepan and Carlton chairwoman Julianne Emerson dropped the bombshell that they had initiated talks with Barnum about consolidation.

Stepan began by stating that the merger talks with Wrenshall were stalled. "We've been trying to consolidate with Wrenshall for over 50 years," she said, "[and] we haven't gotten very far in the last year."

And, as she has repeatedly emphasized, she feels it is a superintendent's job to explore options. Acknowledging that her approach to soliciting Barnum for consolidation talks was controversial, she said it nevertheless had immediate benefits.

"It did cause disruption. I think that caused something to move. We don't have any more time to wait," she said. Stepan had expressed concern about Carlton's finances over the next four years at the Oct. 21 meeting.

In keeping with board requests for more information, Stepan compiled and presented a report with two main columns, one containing information on Carlton-Wrenshall consolidation and the other listing the same for a Carlton-Barnum merger. The comparison examined taxes, debt, enrollment, and other pertinent subjects for both options.

Wrenshall and Barnum have comparatively more debt than Carlton, in part because Carlton taxpayers have consistently rejected recent building referendums.

"So what you can see from the comparison, either way we go, [Wrenshall or Barnum] our taxes in Carlton rise, and ... whether we go with Wrenshall or Barnum, their taxes decline," Stepan said.

How the debt is shared and how much each school district ends up paying in taxes is negotiated between the districts at the time of consolidation. Districts could agree to share their combined debt, or agree to have each district pay their own debt, or something in between.

From a fiscal standpoint, Stepan believes Barnum is the better option. Carlton and Wrenshall, she asserted, are, "two districts who struggle financially." In comparison, "Barnum has a healthy fund balance that would help our credit rating," she said.

A Barnum-Carlton school district would have about 1,000 students, according to Stepan's report, and a Wrenshall-Carlton system would have about 600, provided there isn't an exodus of students prior to consolidation. In terms of incoming revenue at least, bigger is always better because state aid is on a per-pupil basis, and the vast majority of a district's revenue comes directly from the state. Moreover, according to her report, a district with 600 students is still too small to survive.

"[It] may be difficult to find another district around us willing to consolidate with 600 students ... and could lead to dissolution if another district couldn't be found," Stepan stated in her written report.

A map of the school districts shows Carlton bordering six other districts. The same map appears to show that Carlton's longest border is with Barnum.

Geography plays another part in the merger question, however. Carlton's main campus is in the northern reach of the district, while Barnum's complex is near its southern border, meaning students from the city of Carlton, for instance, would have a long bus ride. Although Stepan's report put travel time to Barnum at 12-16 minutes, according to Google Maps it is a 20-minute drive to Barnum High School from Carlton High School, while the trip from Carlton to Wrenshall or Cloquet high schools is approximately seven minutes each. Wrenshall sits 4 miles away, versus Barnum at 18 miles.

There were no questions from board members, and the working session adjourned at the 30-minute mark.

Three members of the board are at the end of their terms in December: Emerson and Eryn Szymczak lost their re-election bids on Nov. 5, while Ryan Leonzal succeeded. Leonzal commented afterward that he hoped to press on with the Wrenshall consolidation but was mindful of the Barnum possibility, or even all three school systems, with reservations.

"If we lost a place like South Terrace ... I'd be heartbroken. My daughter goes there," he said.

Plans with Wrenshall had South Terrace as the elementary school for a combined school district and Wrenshall school serving middle and high school students. Carlton's initial outreach to Barnum requested keeping South Terrace as an elementary school for Carlton-area students, and sending secondary students to Barnum.