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1 Mr. Pricket said he had moved his family from New Brighton to St. <br /> 2 Anthony a year ago because of the educational programs the City <br /> 3 offered. He thought the Council had to evaluate just how much the <br /> • 4 Community Services programs were worth to the City. The resident <br /> 5 said he thought maybe subsidizing a few programs might keep St. <br /> 6 Anthony a vibrant city to which many former students would want to <br /> 7 return to make their homes. <br /> 8 Mr. Murphy stated that he thought one of the most valuable assets the <br /> 9 City had was its school system. He said he and his wife had come <br /> 10 from the southwestern portion of Minneapolis and had chosen St. <br /> 11 Anthony over Edina and Golden Valley because of the quality of life <br /> 12 St. Anthony offered as well as its school system. He anticipated that <br /> 13 when the older residents without children finally sell their homes, <br /> 14 it would probably be to families like his own with a 19 month old son. <br /> 15 Mr. Murphy perceived that if the school system ever went away, the <br /> 16 City would find that loss would have a big effect on the values of <br /> 17 homes in St. Anthony. <br /> 18 He was told the City had attempted to change the demographics of the <br /> 19 community fostering other types of housing like condominiums and <br /> 20 townhomes for the "empty nesters" , perceiving that would help the <br /> 21 school district. Councilmember Marks said he perceived in the long <br /> 22 run those demographics would determine just what programs would remain <br /> 23 in the educational system and who would be running them. He said if <br /> 24 the City continues to get older and older, and there are fewer and <br /> 25 fewer kids and we have to do everything we can to keep the schools <br /> • 26 open, it might well be that there would be a requirement program-wise <br /> 27 for the City to effectively take over. <br /> 28 The Councilmember reminded the visitors that the Council represents <br /> 29 all the residents and not just the 12% who have children in the St. <br /> 30 Anthony school system. The fact that some of the school taxes come <br /> 31 from New Brighton residents just complicates things all the more and <br /> 32 the Councilmember perceived was one of the reasons the Council wanted <br /> 33 to get the ownership of Parkview resolved and back in the hands of the <br /> 34 public who had made the original investment in the building. <br /> 35 When Mr. Pricket indicated that with 5 kindergarten classes in <br /> 36 Wilshire this year he would expect that the building would have to be <br /> 37 enlarged in the future, Councilmember Enrooth reminded him that the <br /> 38 Parkview building would not be appropriate and was already extinct at <br /> 39 the educational level. The Councilmember asked if the resident had <br /> 40 seen the school's student projections, which he perceived indicated <br /> 41 that even with open enrollment, there was very little possibility the <br /> 42 school district would be picking up the additional 30% necessary to <br /> 43 keep the system going. <br /> 44 Councilmember Marks told Mr. Pricket the state limits the City as to <br /> 45 how much taxes it can raise and he perceived that if all of the <br /> 46 sudden St. Anthony had to come up with an additional $200,000 or <br /> 47 $300 ,000 to operate the Community Services programs, he certainly <br /> 16 <br />