Watertown,MN?

[Kid Cann]

Originally Posted by Radical_Car

Lol, ya I guess you can say that about all the quaint towns out of the metro like Watertown and Delano and Buffalo.

We used to play schools like Glencoe-Silver Lake, Waconia, Delano, Dassle-Cokato, Watertown-Mayer, Annandale, Becker and all those schools were subpar in quality compared to STMA, at least througout the late 90s and early 2000s. I have heard Delano is now in really good shape... However STMA just opened the largest HS in Minnesota.

[Radical_Car]

Originally Posted by Kid Cann

However STMA just opened the largest HS in Minnesota.

Sweet!
Is it the largest high school by enrollment or area or both?

[Kid Cann]

Originally Posted by Radical_Car

Sweet!
Is it the largest high school by enrollment or area or both?

Largest in Size (sq feet) and Most expensive ever built.

[mmhl]

Watertown Mayer is actually rated a 9, higher than STMA (an 8) on Greatschools.org. Delano is a 10. Granted they are all very good schools. I think in this neck of the woods, we look at STMA as going the possible route of other suburban schools, etc, which are way too big and start to suffer as a result. St. Michael had horrible long-term city planning & grew way too fast. People in Delano, Watertown, etc., don't WANT their schools to get that big.

[Kid Cann]

Originally Posted by mmhl

Watertown Mayer is actually rated a 9, higher than STMA (an 8) on Greatschools.org. Delano is a 10. Granted they are all very good schools. I think in this neck of the woods, we look at STMA as going the possible route of other suburban schools, etc, which are way too big and start to suffer as a result. St. Michael had horrible long-term city planning & grew way too fast. People in Delano, Watertown, etc., don't WANT their schools to get that big.

Take it how you will, but it wasnt horrible.

It was all about $$$$. For a city with 2,000 residents in 1994, there was VERY LITTLE in terms of a tax base. - An older housing stock, very few commercial/retail developments.

Then, St. Michael annexed Frankfort Township, a Township that was HUGE in land area, and the population jumped to about 7,000 (not really a jump though, just incorporating Frankfort Township)... It's a tough toss-up for rural communities...They are stuck with a huge predicament.... Do we approve new subdivisions, where we can make stacks of $$$$$$ in taxes and incentives, or do we pass on these and let cities like Otsego, Albertville, Monticello and Rogers BOOM all around us, and reap the benefits?

So, small rural communities take it and run. That's why STMA built 5 new schools from 2000-2010, partly due to the fact they grew a lot, but mostly because they now had the $$$ to do so.

Most 'Long-Term' planning is done about 30 years before hand. It's a little tough with a recent annexation, a building boom and an aging housing stock to really 'plan'. Had they 'planned' they would have to be redoing it now, because trends have bucked dramitcally since then...

St. Michael was at one point the fastest growing city in the USA, and not even in the sunbelt.

[Kid Cann]

Originally Posted by mmhl

Watertown Mayer is actually rated a 9, higher than STMA (an 8) on Greatschools.org. Delano is a 10. Granted they are all very good schools. I think in this neck of the woods, we look at STMA as going the possible route of other suburban schools, etc, which are way too big and start to suffer as a result. St. Michael had horrible long-term city planning & grew way too fast. People in Delano, Watertown, etc., don't WANT their schools to get that big.

I was more or less talking about quality of facilities and such. Going to play basketball against schools like W-M, GSL, DC, Delano, Annandale, Becker, you always felt kind of bad (or it made you realize how good you had it) lookiing at their locker rooms, their junky gyms.

Even in baseball and football you realized how poor their facilities were. And I think that's because STMA did have that giant growth that Annandale, Dassle Cokato, GSL, Waconia, Delano, Becker did not have, allowing them to build great facilities with great equipment.

I think that has changed recently however, like you said as STMA has become more 'suburban' while Delano and Waconia and W-M are thriving in their niche.

An example I remember was when we were playing against Mora in Baseball. Their pitcher was a recent draft pick for the Twins, so of course they though they were hot ish.... Anyways, an argument ensued where our head coach went onto the field to discuss with the umpire...Holy mans, you should have heard the barking from Mora fans and players... things like "You rich pxssies!" "Go back to your charter bus" "did daddy buy you that bat?" "Cute cleates, how much did your daddy spend on them?"

It was like "Seriously?" We're STMA not Edina. It blew me away. I never thought of our school as having 'money' and looking back I don't see how anybody did.

[icequeen2008]

Originally Posted by Kid Cann

I was more or less talking about quality of facilities and such. Going to play basketball against schools like W-M, GSL, DC, Delano, Annandale, Becker, you always felt kind of bad (or it made you realize how good you had it) lookiing at their locker rooms, their junky gyms.

Even in baseball and football you realized how poor their facilities were. And I think that's because STMA did have that giant growth that Annandale, Dassle Cokato, GSL, Waconia, Delano, Becker did not have, allowing them to build great facilities with great equipment.

I think that has changed recently however, like you said as STMA has become more 'suburban' while Delano and Waconia and W-M are thriving in their niche.

An example I remember was when we were playing against Mora in Baseball. Their pitcher was a recent draft pick for the Twins, so of course they though they were hot ish.... Anyways, an argument ensued where our head coach went onto the field to discuss with the umpire...Holy mans, you should have heard the barking from Mora fans and players... things like "You rich pxssies!" "Go back to your charter bus" "did daddy buy you that bat?" "Cute cleates, how much did your daddy spend on them?"

It was like "Seriously?" We're STMA not Edina. It blew me away. I never thought of our school as having 'money' and looking back I don't see how anybody did.

I am from Annandale originally and so I know all those smaller towns like watertown and Buffalo, Deleno etc. I love small towns. If I could I would kill to live in a small town.

[Radical_Car]

Originally Posted by Kid Cann

I was more or less talking about quality of facilities and such. Going to play basketball against schools like W-M, GSL, DC, Delano, Annandale, Becker, you always felt kind of bad (or it made you realize how good you had it) lookiing at their locker rooms, their junky gyms.

Ya very true

Originally Posted by icequeen2008

I am from Annandale originally and so I know all those smaller towns like watertown and Buffalo, Deleno etc. I love small towns. If I could I would kill to live in a small town.

Im from Annandale originally too! Lived there for around 16 years.