FAQ
What is the history of the Rollingstone Community School?
Rollingstone Community School was formed by special bonding referendum at the state of Minnesota. Building was built in 1995 and opened in 1996. Winona School district paid bonds for 20 years. It was closed in 2018 by the Winona School district with 77 students. The year it was closed it had the 6th best reading scores in the state.
The City of Rollingstone bought the building in 2019. There are no restrictions on using it as a school.
A group of citizens worked with an Authorizer, the Minnesota Guild, to get approval by the State of Minnesota to become a Charter School. An Authorizer is a required intermediary (between the School and MDE), non-for profit organization that oversees Charter Schools. Another example of and authorizer is the Audubon society. We are the 17th Minnesota Guild Charter School. There are 260+ charter schools in Minnesota and growing.
When will the school open and what grades will it serve?
We are planning to open in the Fall of 2022. We plan to have about 50 students, but are only limited by our space, which could house upwards of 80 students.We plan to serve grades K-5.
Will there be a preschool?
We were advised it is difficult to get state approval for a program that contains Pre-School, however we are actively working with the City to find another organization to run pre-school or daycare and afterschool care.
Is there tuition?
There will be no tuition. Charter Schools are public and as such, cannot charge tuition. We get our funding from the Minnesota State per pupil funding (~$6700 per child/year). We do not get any of our funding from local property taxes.
How many teachers will there be?
The school will have 3 to 4 teachers depending on the number of students. One of the teachers will be a lead teacher helping define curriculum. There will not be a formal principal. Teachers would be hired in the spring of 2022 to give them time to organize curriculum.
Will there be a school nurse and special education services?
We will contract Nursing and Special Education as required.
What will be provided for lunch?
We will contract Nursing and Special Education as required.
Bussing
We are likely unable to provide bussing for the first year. Winona School district is obligated to provide bussing, however, we would be on their schedule.
What is the enrollment timeline?
Our Enrollment process begins January 3rd 2022 and officially ends on February 1st. If we have more than 60 students with either:
- Have to get permission from our Authorizer to go higher
- Institute a lottery to see who gets in
If we have fewer than 60 students on February 1st, we can keep taking applications on a first-serve basis until full.