Why St. Joseph and Clearwater Don’t Have Their Own High Schools

Both St. Joseph and Clearwater are growing communities within District 742 schools.  St. Cloud School Superintendent Laurie Putnam joined me on WJON and weighed in on why both St. Joseph and Clearwater don't have their own High School's yet.  Putnam indicates when she was a Principal at Kennedy Community School in St. Joe she had conversations with Mayor Rick Schultz about St. Joe having their own High School.  She says she would love to see that someday in both communities but they just don't have the population in those locations for it to become possible right now.

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Putnam explains Clearwater/Clear Lake would need to add a Middle School before they could entertain the idea of a High School there.  Currently Clearview in Clear Lake is K-5.  She adds they would need a large enough population so they could sustain the type of offerings that would be needed to allow for a good High School experience.  Putnam says it would be a dream to have a 6-12 in Clearwater/Clear Lake and a 9-12 in St. Joseph, but they just aren't there yet.

If you'd like to listen to my full conversation with Laurie Putnam it is available below.