Minnesota merger

The Carlton and Wrenshall school districts in Minnesota will consolidate on July 1.

The Cloquet Pine Journal reports that voters in the Wrenshall district  approved the merger 430 to 365. That cleared the way for the school systems to become Carlton-Wrenshall Independent School District #100.

The Wrenshall district has about 340 students, and the Carlton district has about 300.

Carlton will close its aging high school, and pre-K through fifth grade will be held at South Terrace Elementary School in Carlton. Middle and high school students will have their classes in what is now Wrenshall's preK-12 campus.

New York City enrollment projected to plummet

Enrollment in New York City’s public schools could plunge by as many as 153,000 students during the next decade, according to projections from the city's School Construction Authority.

The New York Times reports that If the outlook for the nation's largest school district pans out, it will have shrunk by more than a quarter during a 15-year period ending in the 2034-35 school year

The Construction Authority's forecast attributes the expected enrollment decline to falling birthrates, an aging population and an exodus of families.

Today, New York City schools have about 781,000 students, not including those attending charter schools or those with disabilities that attend a separate network of schools known as District 75.

In the 2034-35 school year, the 781,000 figure could fall to just 628,000 students, according to the projections. 

Wisconsin district is closing 2 schools after failed vote

The Portage (Wisconsin) school district is closing two elementary schools at the end of the academic year after voters defeated a referendum that would have provided more funding.

Channel 3000 reports that the school board has voted 6 to 1 to close Endeavor Elementary in Endeavor and Lewiston Elementary in Portage. The closures also will result in elimination of 21 staff positions.

Joshua Sween, district administrator for Portage Community School District, said the district had to reduce its budget after the referendum failed on April 7. The referendum would have provided $3.7 million a year for three years.

"We want to be clear," Sween said in a letter to the community, "none of these reductions were desired. We recognize the profound impact these changes have on our entire community. However, by consolidating our footprint, we are able to maintain manageable class sizes across the district."

Private college in Massachusetts is shutting down

After eight decades, Anna Maria College, a private Catholic college in Paxton, Massachusetts, is permanently closing at the end of the spring semester.

Masslive.com reports that the college announced the closure on April 23.

"The decision reflects years of financial pressure that we were ultimately unable to overcome, and the honest recognition that continuing would not be responsible to the students, faculty, and staff who depend on us," College President Sean Ryan and the Board of Trustees said in a message to the community.

Closing the college means at least 150 employees will be laid off.