6/3/21 Board Work Session

Work Session Materials

Video

The school board held a work session to consider options to address space needs in the southern portion of the district beginning in 2022-2023. Options included changing elementary boundaries district wide, utilizing other spaces within the district (like Rutherford, Stonebridge and Oak Park) to house groups of Lake Elmo students, or creating a new home for Amigos Unidos, the Dual Language Spanish Immersion program, at Oak Park.

The board provided direction to administration to proceed with boundary changes for the 2022-2023 school year. The process is expected to begin after October 1 enrollment numbers are available in the fall, with a decision on boundaries anticipated in December 2021. It is projected that as many as 700 to 1,000 elementary students would be impacted by boundary changes. 

Background Information:

• The southern portion of the district is growing rapidly and Brookview and Lake Elmo are both over capacity. An 8 classroom expansion to Brookview has been approved and construction will begin this summer. 
• A loss of enrollment this current year due to the pandemic has helped slow the growth and bought a bit more time, but by fall 2022 Lake Elmo Elementary is projected to be more than 200 students over capacity.
• Afton-Lakeland and Andersen Elementary are projected to be at capacity in 2022, but the three elementary schools in the north - Lily Lake, Rutherford and Stonebridge - are  expected to be well below capacity. 
• The school board is planning for a bond referendum in either August or November of 2022, with construction of a new Lake Elmo being a top priority. Should a bond pass next year, a new school could be built by 2025.