Round Lake-Brewster School District takes initial steps in high school building closure

• Round Lake-Brewster to close

Alyson Buschena/Daily Globe The Round Lake-Brewster school boards announced the decision Wednesday morning to begin the consolidation process and pursue closing Round Lake’s high school, shown here Wednesday afternoon.

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ROUND LAKE — After years of declining enrollment and subsequent financial difficulties, the Round Lake-Brewster School District has begun the consolidation process and is in the preliminary planning stages of closing the Round Lake High School and establishing secondary tuition agreements with neighboring school districts.

Round Lake-Brewster Superintendent Cornelius Smit said there are multiple steps necessary before the plan is approved by the board.

The county auditor will first submit the plan and an advisory letter to the Minnesota Department of Education for its review.

The district will then respond with a request for consolidation. If the response from the state is positive, a date will be set “for the election of consolidation in each district,” Smit said.

A hearing process will be scheduled for public input and a unilateral decision will not be made until after the public hearing.

"The building closure could only occur after the districts have voted affirmatively to consolidate and then only with a public hearing for the patrons of the district ... ultimately, it requires action to be taken by the school board," Smit said.

For more on this story, see Thursday's Daily Globe and www.dglobe.com.

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