A proposal to remake St. Paul's Homecroft Elementary School into a home for older special education and alternative students has collided with stiff neighborhood opposition and could be pulled from an ambitious plan to transform several St. Paul schools.
After a community meeting attracted about 150 neighborhood residents -- nearly all against the plan -- several school board members indicated they may be willing to delay implementing changes and explore other ways to energize and improve the 86-year-old school in the southwest corner of Highland Park.
In fact, Board Member Tom Conlon, a Highland resident, said he would propose pulling the Homecroft plan from the district's set of proposals for a year.
Other proposals include expanding popular arts and aerospace programs from elementary schools into the middle grades.
"At this point, that's my plan," Conlon said after Wednesday night's emotional meeting. "I'm open to a number of choices that would keep this school open."
St. Paul schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen and her staff have introduced an ambitious set of proposals to radically remake several schools.
Some, like Homecroft, have missed testing targets for several years and must make major changes to improve under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Others, such as Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet and Linwood A-Plus Elementary, have been successful. The idea, Carstarphen has said, is to improve schools that need it and to replicate programs that work.
But the Homecroft plan, which would take several middle and high school programs and put them into what has been a K-6 school, drew flak from neighbors when it was introduced last month. Many complained the public was let in too late on the process.
