On Wednesday, January 6th, the South Washington County Schools Superintendent, Julie Nielsen, posted a statement to Crestview Elementary School’s Latest News. It was a message that left people like Karen Finstad, “saddened and frustrated” in Cottage Grove.

“Over the last four years, the cost of educational services in South Washington County Schools (SoWashCo) has continued to outpace the funding available to fully support our operations. The COVID-19 pandemic has created additional unexpected costs, declining enrollment districtwide and uncertainty for state aid. As a result, the school board will review and discuss a list of proposed budget adjustments during its board workshop on Thursday, Jan. 7,” Nielsen continued, “I want to inform you that one of the recommendations includes the closure of Crestview Elementary at the end of this school year.”

To clarify, the shutting down of Crestview is being pondered by the School Board who has yet to approve or deny this budget adjustment.

A committee of school and department leaders brainstormed ways to reduce spending in response to the lack of funds. They drew ideas that they claim would “increase revenue”, “reduce expenses”, maintain savings and cause less demanding cuts in the future. One of those ideas was to close Crestview, an elementary school located on 80th street and adjacent to Park High School.

Nielsen provided a brief explanation of why this consequence is being considered. First, the district could save $1 million as a result. In the 2021-2022 school year, the district is determined to facilitate $12 million worth of eliminations. If they terminated Crestview’s services, the district would be a fraction closer to reaching that goal. Nielsen elaborated on SWCS’s website, “Our goal is to cut $18 million over the next three years. Of that $18 million, our goal was to

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