District 194 Outlines Fate of Crystal Lake Elementary School

The Lakeville School Board has sent a clear message to administrators, and the public: , which , will be retained for use by the district.

While no formal action has yet been taken by the board, members did reach a "head nod" consensus at their March 10 meeting that their preferred route would be to follow a path that would move the district’s Early Childhood Family Education and other programs into the building. The board will also explore utilizing any additional space for other school district needs.

Those programs are currently housed at the Kenwood Center under a lease that expires in August 2012. Moving into Crystal Lake Elementary, 16250 Ipava Ave., would save the district almost $500,000 in lease-related annual expenses that would help reduce the tax levy. The school is on the boundary between Lakeville and Burnsville; many of its students have been Burnsville residents.

“There have been a lot of rumors that we’re going to sell the property and we need to start getting those rumors under control,” said Board Chair Judy Keliher. “We just need to state, yes, we are using it for district purposes. “

The consensus agreement allows administrators and building consultants to focus on drafting more-detailed plans as to how the space can best be utilized by those programs as well as evaluate how much additional space will be available for other programs or available for district use.

No timeline was laid out for the move or for finalizing plans, but it’s clear the board has little interest in renewing the Kenwood Center lease beyond the August 2012 date. A five to 10-year renewal term would likely be required.

“This demonstrates good planning on the part of this board to end that lease,” said board member Bob Erickson. “I think we should be excited to tell the community that we had a plan. It didn’t matter what school was ultimately decided to be closed, we were going to reuse that space.”

Crystal Lake Elementary was among three that were considered for closure and repurposing as part of the district’s efforts to close a $15.8 million budget deficit over the next two years. It opened in 1987 and currently houses 442 students, most in grades K-5.

The elementary school closure is estimated to trim $750,000 from the district’s budget each year. Eliminating the Kenwood Center lease would add to that future total.

“We’re going to save more than $450,000 in annual lease savings,” Erickson said. “That’s cause for celebration.”

Board member Kathy Lewis said she felt comfortable with the supposed timeline for transitioning the school from an elementary to a different use in late 2012.

“There’s a certain grieving that people leaving Crystal Lake are going through and I think we need to allow them time to make that adjustment,” she said. “I don’t want them to feel like we’re kicking them out and slamming something else in there right away. That would seem kind of insensitive.”

Superintendant Gary Amoroso was pleased with the direction provided by the board to pursue moving the Early Childhood Family Education programs to the closing elementary.

“Crystal Lake will serve children and it will serve them in a marvelous manner,”  Amoroso said. “It will be different from it currently is today, but it will still provide our children and our community with an outstanding facility.”