Bemidji board weighs fundraising committee for J.W. Smith Elementary
Bemidji school leaders weighed a fundraising committee for J.W. Smith Elementary after a 3-3 split kept it open. The district faces a projected $3.5 million deficit.
The Bemidji school board met Monday to discuss a potential fundraising committee for J.W. Smith Elementary while keeping a neutral stance on the idea. The board also set a special meeting for 4:45 p.m. Monday, July 20, to take up the proposal as questions linger over how much private money could help and who would be responsible for raising it.
The discussion comes after the Bemidji Area Schools Board of Education had considered closing J.W. Smith because of a projected $3.5 million deficit for the 2026-2027 school year. The board’s earlier vote on the school ended in a 3-3 split, leaving J.W. Smith open for at least one more year after the board had first taken a step toward closing the elementary school.
That split followed a period of intense public pressure. The board held an open question-and-answer session to hear concerns and explain its reasoning, and parents, teachers and other community members urged the district to keep J.W. Smith open. The new fundraising discussion adds a separate path for the school, but it does not change the underlying budget gap facing Bemidji Area Schools or the fact that the district still has to decide how much long-term support it will commit to the building if fundraising falls short.
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