BEMIDJI — J.W. Smith Elementary School will stay open — at least for now — after a split vote to close the school educating Bemidji preschoolers through third graders.
Bemidji Area School Board members spoke before voting at a special meeting Monday, March 30, which followed a public hearing a week earlier. A motion to close the school came down to a 3-3 vote, meaning it failed to move forward.
School Board Chair Todd Haugen was joined by Board members Ann Long Voelkner and Jack Aakhus — the most senior and the most junior members of the Board, respectively —in rejecting the measure to close the school. Dave Wall, Jenny Frenzel and Anna Manecke supported the motion.
Aakhus warned that while he supported the 73-year-old school staying open for at least one more year, now is the time for the public to support Bemidji Area Schools.
“This year must be used with urgency and purpose, an opportunity for our community to come together, seek funding, advocate and prove what's possible,” he said.
In her comments, Frenzel said her decision to support closing J.W. was difficult, but necessary.
“As a member of the School Board, one of my most important responsibilities is to ensure long-term stability and the success of our district,” she said. “This includes making very difficult decisions, even when they are very deeply emotional, and they impact our community in many different ways.”
Wall pushed back on previous comments that the decision to close J.W. was a race-based decision rather than financial, referencing his mission work with Indigenous people in other countries.
“This is not race-driven. To say that to me, you don't even know me,” he said. “No, unfortunately, because I'm a balding white male with a beard, I'm put into a certain class oftentimes.”
More than two-thirds of J.W.’s student body is American Indian, 80% qualify for free and reduced lunch, 25% require special education services and 8% are experiencing homelessness.
Haugen said he was also torn with the decision, thanking Superintendent Jeremy Olson and his administrative team for their work through the process.
“I really believe in being fiscally responsible. I really believe that we have to keep our district on solid ground,” he said. “And I really believe that I want this school to stay open.”
Closing and consolidating J.W. Smith was estimated to save the district $1 million as it seeks to trim $3.2 million from its budget. Olson said that ahead of a $3.5 million projected deficit in 2027, other cuts may be spread throughout the district.
“If you were looking to get the same equivalent from a dollar standpoint, it would have to be six additional teachers,” Olson said Monday. “However, given the timelines and where we're at, there is an alternate plan that we could put in place that would be less disruptive to our school.”
The alternate plan includes “right-sizing” specialist assignments, such as those workers in information technology or the school libraries. Olson said the district would be “stretched pretty thin” in certain areas, and the cost reductions from other proposed areas of right-sizing fourth through 12th grades would be around $470,000.
In an interview after the meeting, J.W. Principal Bruce Goodwin said while he knows the Board’s Monday decision is temporary, he is ready to start the work.
"We're all in, and we're up to the task and the challenge. We have to keep the school open. We have to figure this out, and we can do it. Our community needs us to do that,” he said.
Boys and Girls Club of Bemidji Area staff and members attended Monday's meeting en masse, as one of its satellite sites for grant-funded after-school care is at J.W. Smith. Executive Director Andrea Kent expressed her gratitude to the Board and Olson for their work through what she described as an “excruciating decision.”
“We're so thankful for this chance to show them how strong Bemidji is and how collaborative Bemidji is,” she said. “We're thankful that they will give time and they will let us show them that we are stronger together.”
Members of the Boys and Girls Club satellite at J.W. are preparing for their inaugural powwow, slated for April 14.
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The district estimates closing the school, which serves second and third grade, will save it at least $516,000 as it works to address a $2 million budget shortfall.
