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Board schedules hearings on Northwest Middle School closure; narrows legislative priorities to five items
Summary
Superintendent Rosser requested a waiver to advance consideration of closing Northwest Middle School and scheduled community engagement Dec. 8 and a public hearing Dec. 9; the board also settled on five legislative priorities including foundation aid, CTE, social‑emotional health, facilities modernization and transportation.
Superintendent Eric J. Rosser told the board the district will begin community engagement and public hearings related to the possible closure of Northwest Middle School and a merger with Andrew Langston.
Rosser said he requested the board waive a three‑month policy requirement so the board could consider a vote to close Northwest on Dec. 18, and he announced two community events: a Northwest school community meeting on Dec. 8 and a public hearing on Dec. 9 to solicit family, staff and community comment.
"I have requested of the board through this memo that we do waive the 3 month requirement outlined in the policy and that we do move forward for the board to strongly consider voting to close Northwest on December 18," Rosser said, asking that parents have clearer information for school selection processes.
Separately, the board discussed legislative priorities for 2026 and worked to identify three to five focus areas by the Jan. 13 deadline. Commissioners advocated for foundation aid (maintained as a standing priority and folded under Big 5 alignment), career and technical education (CTE) expansion, social‑emotional and mental health funding, facilities modernization (FMP), and transportation targeted to Rochester’s specific needs (including bus driver shortages). The board settled on those five as the preliminary slate, with administration directed to refine language and bring recommendations back ahead of the January deadline.
The district said further information on the Northwest engagement schedule and materials will be provided to the community in the coming weeks.
