Posted: 12/11/02

Parents let off steam during meeting

Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Spanish Immersion may be the least of problems facing officials in ISD 831.

At a public hearing Monday night called to provide information on plans for a new elementary program, school board members were hit with a host of other complaints fueled by the proposal for a new program.

Since April, the school district has studied the Spanish Immersion program through a 12-member parent-school task force. The task force was fueled by parental interest in the program spearheaded by Shannon Peterson, a district resident.

Mondayís board meeting at Forest Lake High School was the first of two called by the board to collect citizen input. The board meets again tonight (Thursday) at 7 p.m. in the high schoolís media center.

The school board is expected to consider the proposal at its Monday, Jan. 6 meeting.

The proposal now calls for the creation of two half-day kindergarten sections and two Grade 1 sections in the fall of 2003. Additional grade levels would be added each year.

The program would serve 80 to 100 kids in the first year based on enrollment demand. As many as 40 slots would be made available for open enrollment students, a move that would provide new funding to make the program financially doable, said Superintendent Lynn Steenblock on Monday.

Some open enrollment students would come from outside ISD 831; others would be current home school students or kids in a charter school or church school, but not now attending public schools.

Steenblock said any recommendation from the administration to move forward with Spanish Immersion would have two contingencies. Enrollment and funding must be in place and the stateís financial commitment in terms of school aid must be known, he said.

No site for the school has been selected but the Central Learning Center in Forest Lake and Lino Lakes Elementary are on a short list. No added transportation costs would be incurred at the CLC which is on existing bus routes now.

Citizens speak

After hearing the task force report Monday, citizens cut loose with a litany of complaints and suggestions that did not stop with new programs.

Many in the audience raised other issues including large class size, gifted programs, supplies, the districtís financial health, activity fees and budget add backs that havenít taken place in the wake of citizen approval of excess operating levy dollars a year ago.

Dick LaMere, Forest Lake, said he didnít like the use of district funds in such a fashion when the district is still facing difficult financial times. He argued that if Spanish was so important, parents should do the teaching at home.

ìQuit spending money on foolish things,î LaMere said.

Alisa Watson, a parent from Columbus Township, asked the board to justify costs for Spanish Immersion when the district could not afford English books for students at Century Junior High School. She said her twin daughters have English classes at Century where one student does not have a book under a teaching option chosen by the instructor.

ìEvery kid has a right to have a book to take home,î Watson said. ìTo me this is wrong.î

Kelly Hobson, Forest Lake, questioned the benefit of Spanish Immersion to the general population and why the program would keep spots open for outside students.

Dave Nowicki, Forest Lake, questioned how the district could build a program budget model without including transportation costs when Lino Lakes was still listed as a potential site for the program.

Linda Kinkel, Columbus, one of several speakers who was active in the operating levy campaign last year, said the proposal was creating a situation of ìus versus them.î She questioned how the program fit in the districtís ìbig pictureî in terms of choice.

If choice was a goal of the big picture, she said many other avenues for immersions schools existed. ìDoes this fit in that big picture?î she asked.

Julie Kelly, Forest Lake, questioned the program funding when the district has limited dollars for activities and continues to charge higher fees to participate. ìWeíre talking a much larger population,î she said of the students who take part in activities.

Coco Jones, Forest Lake, questioned the constituency of the parental group that has backed Spanish Immersion. ìI'm wondering who you are representing,î Jones said to the board.

Gail Theisen, Scandia, said she saw Spanish Immersion as a choice program and questioned if it could be implemented as a tuition-based program. ìI can feel your passion,î she said to the program supporters.

But Theisen said the district was facing more ìsignificant needsî in an add-back year. She said she supported the operating levy with the hope of seeing improvement in class size for her student at Scandia. Her child has gone from a class of 27 to a class of 28, she said.

Task force work

The task force, which included four administrators and two teachers, spent over six months researching and studying the program. Several site visits to existing immersion schools were part of the study.

Peterson, the parent who sparked the drive for the program in the spring and summer of 2001, said 58 families have expressed interest in sending students to the school. About 75 percent of the 58 families now have students in ISD 831 schools, Peterson said.

She was one of several parents and school personnel who took part in the task force presentation Monday.

Peterson said the vision of the program was to build cross cultural understanding and increased communication skills for youth who realize competitive benefits and increased opportunities through a bilingual education. The program would enable students to master a second language and culture while still achieving the districtís learner outcomes and building a strong foundation in English, she said.

ìKids donít have preconceived ideas,î Peterson said. ìThey take it for the way it comes. And they get it.î

Steenblock estimated total costs of $191,000 to get the program off the ground this fall. New revenue from open enrollment of $176,000 is anticipated to cover costs, he said.

Lino Lakes Principal Cam Hedlund, a task force member, said he shared many of the concerns raised by parents but spoke for the program, saying he supported it because it ìmakes sense for kids and is good for kids.î

Terry DuRei, president of the Forest Lake Education Association, said later FLEA members have expressed concerns with the program, but no formal position has been adopted by the union.

DuRei said FLEA would await the administrative recommendation in January and have assurance funding would be in place before taking a position of support or opposition.

Top of Page