UPDATE: Crystal Lake Elementary Students Could Be Relocated

The Lakeville School Board and members of the public got their first glimpse Tuesday evening of the recommended elementary school boundary changes that are being proposed due to the upcoming  at the end of the current school year.

Crystal Lake is located on the boundary between Lakeville and Burnsville and as many as 50 percent of its students are Burnsville residents.

The task force recommended a plan that would essentially disperse the more than 400 Crystal Lake Elementary students to three neighboring elementary schools that include ,  and . The plan leaves the boundaries for the district’s five other elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools as is.

Jon Braun, Principal of  presented the proposal on behalf of the school district’s eight-person Attendance Area Adjustment Task Force that also comprised members from the school board, district administrators, the  PTO President and a demographer.

Complex considerations were taken into account by the task force in redrawing the lines including making efforts to limit disruptions, avoiding the creation of a racially identifiable school, utilizing natural boundaries to keep neighborhoods together, minimizing the number of students moving from a “fee” to “no fee” zone and utilizing building capacities to create a sustainable and efficient plan for the schools.

In addition to conferring with affected residents, staff and other resources, the task force made use of a detailed and sophisticated Geographic Information System (GIS) to help compile data and analyze the impacts of different boundary placements.

“This is an amazing tool that we had at our disposal,” said Braun. “It provided us with accurate enrollment data.”

The GIS used pulled public information compiled by Dakota County and merged them with school district databases to drill down to individual plat information that provided the task force with specific information regarding neighborhood and residents. The task force was able to analyze grade level, racial and economic data and other information for use in meeting the established parameters of the boundary line realignment.

According to Braun, the realignment will serve to balance out and decrease the overall range of demographics across all elementary schools in the district. The detailed data from the GIS provided a myriad of statistics.

For example, the previous elementary school enrollment disparity had a range of 242 students between the highest and lowest schools. The new plan will leave Lakeview Elementary with 613 students as the high and Christina Huddleston Elementary with 531 students as a low – a range of only 82 students.

Racial ranges will also tighten up with the proposed plan with Orchard Lake Elementary comprising an ethnic minority makeup of 19.7 percent while Lakeview Elementary will comprise 10.7 percent for a range of 9 percent. The previous range was 15.7 percent with Crystal Lake Elementary comprising a makeup of 25.7 percent ethnic minority enrollment.

“We needed to be certain not to vary more than 20 percent from the 14 percent district wide average,” said Braun. “Racially isolated districts, and Lakeville is considered one, have to avoid the creation of racially identifiable schools.”

Free and reduced lunch program students and English Language Learner student statistics will also see a leveling in enrollment numbers.

Other considerations involved in the task force’s recommendations included special needs programming, the IGNITE! program, the flow of bus routes and Title One programming.

Braun said he anticipated Oak Hills Elementary will replace Crystal Lake Elementary as a targeted Title One school. Orchard Lake, Lake Marion, JFK, and Christina Huddleston are the district’s other Title One schools.

The number of students moving from a “fee” to a “no fee” transportation zone is 29.

The proposed plan appeared generally well-received by school board members who had had a chance to review the plan prior to the work session.

Board member Bob Erickson asked Braun if potential future residential development within Lakeville was taken into account and how that might affect future boundaries.

Braun stated that elementary schools that bordered likely development areas would be able to absorb short-term projected additions.

“The task force believes this creates a sustainable and efficient use of the schools,” said Braun.

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(Original story: Apr. 5, 9 p.m.)

A task force is recommending that the more than 400 students in Lakeville's  be relocated to the neighboring schools, rather than have a larger boundary adjustment for the entire district.

Crystal Lake is located on the boundary between Lakeville and Burnsville and many of its students are Burnsville residents.

The recommendation, presented to Lakeville's School Board at a work session Tuesday evening by the district’s Attendance Area Adjustment Task Force, suggests altering the borders of ,  and  elementary schools to absorb Crystal Lake's student population.

In the mean time, the Crystal Lake building is being tipped to house the district’s Early Childhood Family Education and other  programs. 

The move would save the district almost $500,000 in lease-related annual expenses that would help reduce the tax levy.

Check back with Lakeville Patch and Burnsville Patch on Wendesday for a more detailed story.

Timeline:

Here's the proposed timeline for the attendance boundary changes.

Tuesday, April 12: School Board meeting at the  where the model will be presented. Live broadcast on Channel 22.
Monday, April 18: Community feedback opportunity at  beginning at 6:30p.m.
Tuesday, April 19: Board of Education Study Session at the District Office to review the proposal.
Tuesday, April 26: School Board meeting at the District Office where new boundaries will be approved. Live broadcast on Channel 22.