A Minnesota school district's plan to build a high school on the site of a charter school has prompted a legal battle over the districts' eminent domain powers.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Rock Ridge Public Schools—a new district combining the former Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert school districts—is trying to acquire the land in Eveleth, Minn., that is the site of the East Range Academy of Technology and Science (ERATS).
The Rock Ridge district contends that it had to condemn the charter school property—a step required to exercise eminent domain—because no other land was available for the project.
Trevor Helmers, an attorney representing Rock Ridge, says the case is unlikely to set a precedent for similar disputes in other locations, and that the district was forced to exercise eminent domain to avoid costly construction delays.
But Jeff Storms, the charter school's attorney, says a win for Rock Ridge could make it possible for districts elsewhere to go after charter school sites. In some areas, competition from charter schools has led to considerable declines in enrollment at traditional public schools.
"It would give the public school districts effectively the ability to demolish and remove any public charter school within their geographical school district," Storms asserts.
In May 2019, voters in the Eveleth-Gilbert and Virginia districts approved a $180 million referendum to pay for construction of new schools. A district committee picked the site of the charter school as the home of a new high school. Finding a suitable site was difficult because of the lack of buildable land that is not subject to mineral rights.
District officials approached ERATS to try to buy out the charter school's lease of the privately owned property, which runs through June 2023.
Helmers said the charter school was unwilling to negotiate a deal. But the charter school contends in its lawsuit that the school district is the party that wouldn't negotiate.
The ERATS charter school has operated on the property since 2007 and serves about 180 students.
