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Parents, students and staff urge Brainerd board to keep Brainerd Learning Center in its current building
Summary
Dozens of parents, students, alumni and staff told the Brainerd Public Schools Board that moving the Brainerd Learning Center (BLC) would remove a 'safe space' for students with trauma, anxiety and medical needs and could reduce attendance and state funding. Speakers urged the board to consider human costs before relocating the program.
Dozens of parents, students and staff urged the Brainerd Public Schools Board on Monday to keep the Brainerd Learning Center (BLC) and MLAP program in its current building, saying the facility’s small size and specific accommodations are integral to students’ progress.
"The Brainerd Learning Center is not like other schools," Mariana Call told the board. "It provides a smaller, more personal environment for students who struggle in traditional settings. Moving the program ... would send a message to students that the safe space they finally felt like they belonged in doesn’t matter."
The nut of the public testimony was a common claim: the BLC’s physical layout and continuity of staff are not interchangeable with placement inside a…
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