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Gem Lake News Page 6 of 8 <br /> <br /> <br />White Bear Montessori School Plans Major Expansion <br /> <br />The White Bear Montessori School (WBMS), which is <br />located at the corner of County Road E and LaBore <br />Road, is about to undertake a major expansion. The <br />school was founded in 1970 by a group of parents who <br />wanted to bring Montessori to the White Bear Area. It <br />was originally located on Bloom Avenue in downtown <br />White Bear, moving to its current location in the late <br />1990’s. The remodeling of the church that was located <br />at that site was partially funded at that time by an <br />Educational Revenue Note through the City of Gem <br />Lake. <br /> <br /> <br />Due to customer demand for Montessori schooling, <br />enrollment has grown rapidly, especially in the last few <br />years. “We often have a parent in our community who <br />attended here as a child, this year we have three, “says <br />Marnie McPherson, Head of School. “Taking into <br />consideration a retention rates of over 85%, wait lists <br />(paid applications) of over 30, we are outgrowing our <br />current facilities.” <br /> <br /> <br />The school’s board of trustees felt this was a good time <br />expand facilities to keep up with the market for <br />Montessori services. (The school offers educational <br />services for toddler through elementary school age <br />children.) In January of this year, these trustees voted to <br />approve a major expansion, that will involve the addition <br />of two large classroom, a storm shelter, expanded office <br />space, a Home Economics Kitchen and other features. It <br />is expected that the $3 Million dollar expansion will pay <br />for itself through increased enrollment over the next <br />number of years. Currently the school has 125 students, <br />up significantly from 2020 covid enrollment of 87. <br /> <br /> <br />It is hoped that the expansion project will be funded <br />through the issuance of what is called Conduit Debt <br />Financing. The City of Gem Lake allows the school to use <br />its tax-exempt status to get a better rate on bonds, in <br />exchange for a fee that is paid to the city for <br />administrative costs. On closing of the initial financing, <br />the city has no liability for the bonds, and the <br />arrangement is basically between the school and their <br />lender. (In this case, Premier Bank) This financing <br />arrangement was used in 1998 when the school moved <br />to Gem Lake. <br /> <br /> <br />The Gem Lake City Council reviewed details of the <br />arrangement at the March City Council meeting and <br />voted to advance the project to the next step. This <br />involves holding a public hearing on the matter at the <br />April or May City Council meeting, depending upon <br />processing deadlines. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />