RAS Has Created Overcrowded Schools!!

By The NumbersGuy (Ron Stoffel)

Robbinsdale Area School District #281 (RAS) has created and is continuing to cause overcrowded schools by mismanaging non-resident student populations in most district schools. An example at Plymouth Middle School (PMS), which is one of the schools used to require the $30+ million expansion plan, the 14-15 year percentage of non-resident students to total students is about 8%. Under Minnesota Statute 124D.03, district is required to have at least 1% of total student population by grade by school be made up of non-resident students. Therefore, PMS has 7 times the number of non-resident students required by law!!! RAS total District wide non-resident population is over 12%.

If the district properly managed its non-resident student population at PMS and throughout the District, there would be NO NEED to spend over $30 million in capital and over $1.2 million in annual operating costs!!

The District has said that it has taken over 20 months to review all options for addressing overcrowded schools, have they considered reducing non-resident student population. If not why not??

I believe this is a COMPLETELY self-inflicted problem that must be fixed without spending over $30 million in capital and $1.2 million in annual operating costs.  Over $30 million in capital costs must be COMPLETELY paid for by District #281 residents, not non-resident student families!!

Please contact RAS School Board and Administration to ask why THEY have caused this problem??

Sicoli Leaves For Roseville

By Andrew Richter

Well it looks like Robbinsdale School Superintendent Aldo Sicoli has decided to take the same position in the Roseville District.

Here is a message from Dr. Sicoli

As you may know, I was a candidate and finalist for the Superintendent of Schools position at Roseville Area Schools. From a pool of well-qualified and well-respected candidates, I am deeply honored that the Roseville Area Schools board placed their faith in me and offered me the position last night, which I verbally accepted. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to go back home.  I have always had a connection to Roseville because of my time as a student, student teacher and coach in this district. I look forward to the new challenges.

I am proud of what we have accomplished since I joined Robbinsdale Area Schools nearly six years ago. We have been able to stabilize our finances, increase our enrollment and improve academic outcomes for our students. We adopted our forward-thinking Unified District Vision strategic plan that is working and delivering measurable, positive results for our students. This plan was implicitly developed to increase student achievement and will continue to yield positive results. This would not be possible without the committed work of all of our stakeholders. Robbinsdale Area Schools is a special place with excellent leadership from our school board and staff. I am confident that Robbinsdale Area Schools will remain focused on doing what is best for all learners.

 I will continue to serve as the superintendent of this district until the end of the school year, and I remain committed to my work every day. This is a busy and critical time of time of year. It is important that we keep our focus on closing this school year strong. Our school board works tirelessly to do what is best for all of our students. I know that they will begin the process of selecting a new leader and share those plans in upcoming weeks. Thank you for your ongoing support of this wonderful district.

Board Chair Sherry Tyrrell tried to calm all of our fears….

The Robbinsdale Area School board congratulates Dr. Aldo Sicoli on being named the superintendent for Roseville Area Schools. We are obviously saddened by his upcoming departure from our district. Dr. Sicoli has been a tremendous leader focused on student success. We appreciate the transparency he provided throughout his hiring process with Roseville. We know that the Roseville Area Schools board recognized the same leadership skills we have appreciated about Dr. Sicoli during his time at Robbinsdale Area Schools. We wish Dr. Sicoli the best as he pursues this new opportunity.

We know that there will be lots of questions about the timing and process to select a successor to Dr. Sicoli. The board will immediately begin the appropriate discussions to ensure there is a seamless leadership transition for our district. Robbinsdale Area Schools has excellent staff leadership focused on implementing our Unified District Vision. We are confident that our work will continue while we plan for this transition. 

I’m curious about Sicoli’s contract. He was inked at Robbinsdale through 2018 and I wonder what “escape hatches” were in it. We’ll keep you posted on who get hired. I know the anticipation is great out there!