Lakeville School Board Plows Ahead on Boundary Changes, Superintendent Search

The Lakeville School Board had a busy week as it formally unveiled the prompted by the pending , and met to formulate their search plan to .

The board first heard the school boundary change recommendations at a work session on April 5, but the presentation was formally put “on camera” during Tuesday night’s regularly scheduled meeting.

Board members said the response to the plan has been predominantly positive since the initial presentation.

“I think it’s being accepted by a majority of people,” said board member Jim Skelly. “Of all the adjustments and decisions we’ve had to make over the past few months, it seems this one has yet to poke anybody in the ribs. There hasn’t been much negative feedback. What’s coming back this way has been positive so far.”

There were no public comments made concerning the boundary changes at Tuesday’s meeting. A community conversation night is planned for April 26 to give residents the chance to address the board regarding the proposed boundary changes as well as other issues. The board will take a final vote on the proposed changes on May 10.

Skelly noted only twelve people in attendance during the boundary change proposal. Earlier, the district conference room was standing room only as a large contingent was on hand to hear Jessica Suby address the board about the occurring with teacher realignment due to widespread staff reductions.

“I currently have a child in special education,” said Suby during her comments. “My son needs social skills training, and he needs teacher who understands his goals. Most importantly, he needs a teacher that is passionate about what they are teaching.” 

Suby said she believes that "stranding" teachers into positions they haven't taught for years, or have no desire in teaching, wasn't in the best interest of students, especially those in special education.

“Students with special needs aren’t just another group,” said Suby. “Who will be working with my son next year? A former phy ed teacher? A coach? Is this what is best for Lakeville students?” 

The board has heard similar comments from other teachers and parents but have previously stated their hands are tied on the issue. Suby's comments drew loud applause and the room emptied considerably following her remarks.

The board also met for a work session on Wednesday evening to formulate their plan for proceeding in the has announced his retirement from the district effective June 30.

The board has set an aggressive timeline for finding a replacement and reviewed sample request for proposals (RFP) from Stillwater, St. Paul and Denver area school districts to help draft their own RFP from professional search firms.

“I think it’s very important to meet with community groups, teachers, union, custodians and parents to determine the criteria of what the community expects,” said director Kathy Lewis during discussion on the draft RFP. “I would like to see how they (search firms) would engage that.”

Board members agreed that seeking input from throughout the community was an important part of the process and will be asking firms responding the RFP to include an overview of how they will garner that input while being time and cost conscious.

Board members also indicated they would want search firm applicants to meet one-on-one with board members to help determine the overall preferences of the board.

“I think it would be a significant advantage to meet with individual board members and come back with a composite to represent the best interest of the entire board,” said director Bob Erickson. “They could come back to the entire board and summarize their findings and share that with the candidates. I’d want a search firm to know what they’re pursuing.”

In the interest of time and cost, keeping things simple seemed to ultimately win out and board members decided to adopt a hybrid template from the sample RFPs with board members giving specific input on modification requests they would like included.

Board chair Judy Keliher will tentatively meet with Director of Business Services Tony Massaros on Friday with the goal of posting the RFP by Monday.

If all progresses according to plan, RFP responses will be due on Monday, April 25 with the board meeting prior to their regularly scheduled April 26 meeting to determine their preferred firms. Those finalists will then interview on May 2 with a final vote taking place during a tentative early morning meeting on May 3 to select the search firm.