By Kristin Gudmundson
Peterson, MN
Living in rural Minnesota, we often hear about the challenges of declining population when a school referendum is discussed. But according to the website https://center-for-rural-policy.shinyapps.io/Atlas_2025/ it is projected that Fillmore County’s population will remain basically steady looking out as far as 2035, with a change of +0.0 – 2.5%. More statistics might be helpful in this situation but even if we go with the common narrative of our population decreasing, what do we do in the meantime? Do we just resign ourselves to the fact that in the not-too-distant future our towns and school will just die out? Or do we look for more ways to sustain our amazing communities and vibrant school as much as possible? I believe voting YES for the February 10 Rushford-Peterson school referendum is a great way to invest in our students and communities and ensure a better chance of maintaining their vibrancy for future generations.
Expanded classroom space will allow for flexible learning spaces, amenable to accommodating the wide range of specialized learning plans across a full spectrum of needs; for those who would benefit from extra help all the way to those who would benefit from more challenging coursework. It also would give suitable space for specialized equipment used to give students hands-on learning with state-of-the-art technological tools … think 3-D printer, plasma cutter, etc. All of these options present great opportunities for our students and open up more opportunities for their futures and our communities’ futures.
Innovative spaces for learning are a great attractor when families are choosing a place to live and a school to send their children to. Another large factor in attracting families to our towns/school is the availability of daycare. Offering care for school-age children along with possibly accommodating toddlers/infants is of great interest to young families as daycare is increasingly hard to find and can play a large role in their decision making. Having young children in an expanded daycare could very likely lead to these children staying in our school district, resulting in a better chance at sustaining enrollment numbers for R-P.
Finally, adding another gym would relieve many current scheduling problems. R-P has three Phys. Ed. teachers and only two gym spaces. If weather requires indoor classes, there is a shortage in space; the dance team does not have a dedicated space to practice; the winter sports teams are constantly jockeying for gym space as well. Oftentimes, practices for these activities can run quite late on school nights, making it harder for students to have time for homework and get the rest that their growing bodies and minds need. With an added gym, we could also accommodate more/larger tournaments. These events bring in thousands of people to our area and give us a chance to showcase our facilities as well as support our current businesses.
All of these reasons, along with state funds covering at least half of the price, lead me to believe that voting YES would be a great investment for our students AND for our communities.
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