Rochester Public Schools is sticking to its position that the Hart Farm property remains the best site for a new middle school, even as city officials urge the district to consider an offer of donated land elsewhere.

On Tuesday, City Administrator Steve Rymer sent a letter to Superintendent Michael Muñoz outlining his objections to the Hart Farm site, a sprawling farmland property located just beyond the city’s southwest boundary.

Rymer cited a lack of existing infrastructure and concerns about growth management as reasons why the city does not support the proposal. The letter echoed similar concerns previously raised by the city council.

“Based upon the information we have to date, there appear to be significant costs associated with development of your proposed site that are substantially higher than other areas of our community that generate less developable land based upon the investment,” said Rymer.

To avoid the millions of dollars of additional taxpayer funds that would likely be needed to build out new infrastructure near the Hart Farm land, Rymer suggested the district consider another site — this one on the northwest side of Rochester. In addition to there being a private developer willing to donate the land, the site also has the benefit of having access to necessary infrastructure, such as water service and pedestrian facilities. (Neither the name of the developer nor the address of the site have been made public.)

Update on this story: More information comes to light regarding offer of donated land for middle school

“We would encourage you to consider this offer and we are immediately available to assist in further evaluation of the site,” wrote Rymer.

The two parties have not spoken since the letter was sent. The memo, forwarded to us Tuesday afternoon, marked the first time that the developer’s offer of donated land had been made public. (Rymer said the city first learned of the potential donation during a conversation with the developer in mid-December. The offer to the district was made two months earlier. The district did not mention the offer during a Dec. 2 council meeting, in which the subject of the middle school was a focal point.)

Responding to questions Wednesday [full text here], Muñoz said the district continues to study the option of using the donated lane for its middle school. However, it has already identified several challenges with the site.

Those challenges include the site’s topography, location, and size.

“The developer offered the District 20-acres,” Muñoz said in a written statement. “This size… lends itself to a suitable area for an elementary school but not a middle school. The District would need more than 40 acres to meet the needs of a middle school… due to the topography, streams, and wetland-like areas at this specific location. “

Muñoz added that the district’s current need for a middle school is in the southwest, not the northwest. The south end of town currently has one middle school, Willow Creek, serving the entire half of the district.

By comparison, if the new school was to be constructed on the land favored by the city in northwest, the result would be three middle schools located within five miles of each other on the north side of Rochester.

“City leadership recommends building the middle school in the northwest; despite the last ten years of community growth in the southern area,” said Muñoz, now in his ninth year as superintendent. “This growth drove the immediate need for a middle school in the south.”

The Hart Farm site is labeled “C” on the map

Muñoz said the district will continue to purse an annexation of the 80-acre southwest property. That request will come before the council on April 6.

On Tuesday, the Rochester School Board met behind closed doors to discuss “future real estate transactions.” It is unclear what, if anything, came out of the meeting. Reached Wednesday, newly-appointed Board Chair Deborah Seelinger declined to answer questions about when the board first learned about the land donation offer, or what was discussed Tuesday night.

“As you can tell from the district’s response, there are many things the district considers as it evaluates a site location,” Seelinger said in a written statement. “Our administration has worked hard evaulating each site, carefully considering options to overcome any challenges a particular site might have, while keeping our students first and foremost in their minds. While the scope of work our community supported by passing the referendum is daunting, we are excited about the future facilities and opportunities we will be providing our students.”

The debate over where to build the middle school follows a November referendum in which voters approved $180.9 million in bonding requests. Other items included in the referendum were one new elementary school, the reconstruction of two others, plus pool upgrades at two high schools.

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.

Cover photo: Superintendent Muñoz / File / Med City Beat