Parents, staff press MAPS board over focus‑school plan as district reports 127 lottery applicants

MANKATO — Mankato Area Public Schools officials told the school board on Thursday that 127 students have applied in a district lottery for three new elementary “focus schools,” while parents and staff at Bridges Elementary urged leaders not to expand class sizes or override site council bylaws.

At a presentation on the district’s focus‑school rollout, Travis Olson, director of teaching and learning, and Tabitha Miller, the district’s principal on special assignment for the project, outlined enrollment, transportation and curriculum planning that officials said is intended to keep core instruction intact while adding themed experiences at Bridges, Jefferson and Rosa Parks elementary schools.

"We have 127 students who have now chosen to enroll or participate in our lottery application," Olson said. "We are excited for the opportunity and options that we're gonna be able to provide." Miller said more than half of those applicants — 66 — are incoming kindergarten families.

Parents who spoke during the meeting’s public‑comment period said the rollout has been too fast and not sufficiently collaborative. Angie Dorn, co‑president of the Bridges Parent Advisory Council, said the district’s plan to increase enrollment at Bridges would "disregard what has made the school so successful," including small class sizes and site‑level governance. "Bridges was designed as a small community school for a reason," Dorn said.

Shannon Winant, a Bridges parent, said increases would strain staff and students and that kindergarten class size is especially consequential. "If a child gets behind in kindergarten, they will never catch up again," Winant said. She described current gaps at Bridges — a need for a full‑time counselor, reading intervention teacher and additional paras — and asked where the district would find the staff and space to serve more students.

Nicole Blase, another Bridges parent, said the site council spent two years (2021–2023) refreshing bylaws that included an overall school cap of 252 students. Blase said district leaders had previously indicated that, so long as that cap held, Bridges could set class sizes locally. "It is to my surprise that the district appears to be going back on their word," she told the board.

District officials said those conversations are ongoing. Miller said site "dreaming teams" have been planning curricular entry points and that the district has visited peer schools to understand what works. Olson reviewed timeline details: families applied via the district lottery window (opened Nov. 25 and closed Jan. 24), awarded seats will be notified Feb. 14, and families will have until March 1 to accept or decline; a late‑application period will run from March 1 to Aug. 15 for families who move into the district.

Transportation plans were described as finalized last week and will use Rosa Parks as a bus hub, Olson said. He said school start times were adjusted slightly: Bridges will remain at 8:20 a.m., Jefferson will shift to 8:05 a.m., and Rosa Parks to 8:00 a.m. Buses will transfer students at Rosa Parks to other sites as needed.

On Bridges’ governance and the site cap, Olson and district leadership said the district is continuing discussions with the site council and school leadership. Board members and district staff described the 252 figure as a guideline used in prior bylaws and said recent conversations were exploring a smaller expansion — roughly 20 seats — which would put an overall enrollment near 272, not the much larger increases some parents feared. "We had talked roughly right now. We were settling on roughly 20 more kids," Olson said.

Board members acknowledged parents’ concerns and the need for clearer, ongoing engagement. In remarks during the meeting Superintendent Peterson noted there is an established attendance‑exception process families may use to request placement at another MAPS school and that the district will continue to follow collective bargaining language regarding class sizes.

Why it matters: The focus‑school plan affects enrollments, staffing, transportation and school culture across the district. Parents at a school with an established, site‑driven model said the district must respect prior site council agreements and provide clearer information about staffing, enrollment caps and how changes will be supported.

The meeting did not include a formal board vote to change any Bridges bylaws or caps; district staff said final decisions on enrollment caps would return to the board if needed.

What’s next: Families awarded seats will be notified Feb. 14 and have until March 1 to accept. Late applications will be accepted March 1–Aug. 15 if seats remain. District staff said they will continue site‑level conversations and return with updated staffing and facility implications as plans are refined.