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VIII-B Superintendent Recommendations: Malcolm X stated that, "Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today." In my recommendationsto you, I hope it is clear that I do not intend to leave our community unprepared for "tomorrow." Listed below are my short-term recommendations, or "mileposts," and my long-term recommendations or, "cornerstones" that will provide concrete steps to prepare Roseville Area Schools for immediate and future challenges. Along with the "mileposts" and "cornerstones," I have included rationale for my recommendations. The Mileposts: Six to 18 Months Milepost �� Maintain the current building and grade configurafion for K-12 Rationale: It is my recommendation to maintain the current building and grade configuration. There is no doubt the district must retain the current high school and middle school options because of the current and projected student enrollment and programming responsibilities in both buildings. Parkview is the lone district alternative school and one of the few K-8 options available in the entire metropolitan area. Par�view also has a sizeable number of open enrollment families who may not remain in the school district if this option is not available. The site also hosts a significant number of district programs and staff inembers who service a large cross-section of the school district's population. Closing a neighborhood building at the present time would not produce the financial windfall required to � make this drastic step worthwhile. The closing of an elementary school would reduce operations and staffing costs by approximately $300,000, but would necessitate moving the current students to other district buildings and redrawing attendance boundaries. I also believe a number of families from the building closed would make the decision to continue their education in a private school, charter school or a neighboring public school. A loss of only 50 students because of this action would negate any of the savings generated by the closing of a neighborhood school. Milepost #2: Form "Partner Schools" among the six neighborhood elementary schools to ensure more efficient staffing, access to special programming, curriculum development, staff development and transportation. Rafionale: In order to produce efficient elementary buildings it is my recommendation to "partner" Roseville Area Schools' six neighborhood buildings for the purpose of staffing, special programming, curriculum development, staff development and other programmingwhere economy of scale is beneficial. rn lieu of looking at our neighborhood schools as six independent buildings, I propose looking at them as three neighborhood schools with two campuses. Rather than moving students to larger buildings, it is my recommendation to move the adults (staf�, programs, and services and maintain the intimate and cozy learning environment that now exists in our neighborhood schools. I believe "partnering" will produce financial rewards in the long run, maintain high achievement, and also encourage beneficial learning and working partnerships between the buildings' staff, their families and the students. I am recommending the following "partner schools": Bri�hall and Falcon Heights, Central Park and E.D. Williams, and Little Canada and Edgerton. 2 VIII-B