By Joanna Miller, Staff Writer

The Prior Lake-Savage Area School District began the planning process Monday for a multi-district collaboration to tackle integration issues.

Prior Lake-Savage, Jordan and Shakopee school districts will join together through a Minnesota Department of Education program to create a plan between their students.

The state offers the plan to districts that have more than a 20-percent difference in racial makeup with neighboring districts.

Prior Lake-Savage was invited to join in a collaborative project based on the racial difference in its population compared with neighboring Burnsville schools in 2006-07, when it passed the tipping point at 20.63 percent.

Previously, the School Board turned down participation in a plan with the Burnsville and Lakeville public schools, citing that the plan was already developed and it didn’t match with the Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools’ strategic plan.

The plan to team with Jordan and Shakopee allowed Prior Lake-Savage to be part of the process from the ground up.

During 2008-09, the districts will create a plan. They’ve invited members of the community to join a council to work on a plan, with a kick-off event set for Sept. 18. The plan is anticipated to be brought to the boards for approval in March 2009.

The program is two-thirds funded by the state and one-third by a local, non-voter-approved levy.

The levy is renewed annually; however, the planning team will create a three-year integration plan.

In 2007-08, $6,900 was used in levied funds for the program. For 2008-09, $5,500 will be levied.

Director of Business Affairs Margo Nash said the program costs less than $2.50 per pupil unit for the 2008-09 year due to the state funding available – which equals about 40 to 50 cents in taxes on a $300,000 home.

The program grants the boards up to $92 per pupil tax authority, with up to a third of that coming from the local levy – about $30 per pupil unit.

“We’re barely skimming the surface on what the authority is,” Nash said.

The proposed programming and budget for 2009-10 will come back to the board for approval of the levy amount, which may or may not approach the limit.

Bondo Nyembwe, program administrator for School Choice at the Minnesota Department of Education, said the program is voluntary for districts. It offers districts funds to use for academics and activities that are paired with cultural and social programming.

“You can look at your population and see which students are underachieving, and say, ‘Let’s start an after-school program for all underachieving students and address some of the cultural issues, too,’” he explained.

The dollars may also be used to provide professional development to teachers working with diversity in the classroom.

Nyembwe said the program gives “the advantage of exposing students to what the world beyond their community looks like.”

The program addresses goals such as ending prejudice, bigotry and stereotypes by exposing students to different cultures and ethnicities, he said.

“At the state level, we don’t force districts to participate,” Nyembwe said. “At the end, the School Board decides. It’s a voluntary program.”

Prior Lake-Savage Area students have seen an increase in diversity over the past 10 years. In 1997-98, 2.88 percent of students were minorities. That percentage grew to 11.81 percent in 2007-08.

These numbers don’t reflect Caucasian students who don’t speak English well. There are currently 15 different languages spoken in the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District.

Of those, the Russian population is the largest group utilizing English as a Second Language opportunities in District 719; however, the integration program doesn’t include Russian students in its numbers because they are not considered a minority under state guidelines.

Russian students would still be welcomed to participate in any of the programming to increase diversity awareness, the board explained Monday.

While program guidelines are specific, the actual programs that the districts agree upon are left flexible for the districts to mold to meet their group needs.

The board members agreed that the joint funds could cover anything from increasing professional development to bringing students together for events at each district.

For now, under the guidance of Kim Ratz, a consultant overseeing the three-district collaboration for the year, the group plans to work through a council including a diverse panel of residents as well as administrators and board members.

 Joanna Miller can be reached at (952) 345-6375 or jmiller@swpub.com.