Five Hawks Elementary is one of six schools that will be impacted by attendance boundary changes.
Members of the Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board was presented with five different elementary school boundary changes at its Sept. 22 meeting.
Executive Director of Business Affairs Lisa Rider and Director of Operational Services Dan Powers presented options following the board’s authorization to close WestWood Elementary as a neighborhood school and implement new school attendance boundaries. Alternatives were to assess current resources and be able to adjust for current and future enrollment.
When planning for the boundary changes, the district used “base numbers” that did not include open-enrolled students and put students who are currently attending a school through In-District Transfer (IDT) back to their home schools. The fact that La ola del lago (LODL) and SAGE 5th grade students will be located in the WestWood building starting in the 2026-27 school year was also figured into the plan.
Once the new boundaries are decided, current district families may be able to request an In-District Transfer (IDT) under special circumstances. In regards to open-enrolled students, the district stated in an email to families, “Following any IDT considerations, non-resident families who are currently open-enrolled in PLSAS will remain enrolled in the district. However, in alignment with state statute, these families will be asked again to indicate their top three elementary school preferences, which the district will take into account when making placements.”
The five boundary scenarios are:
Scenario A
Five Hawks, adding the area west of Highway 13 and the southeast side of Prior Lake
Redtail Ridge, adding area south of County Road 42
Splitting the northwest side of Prior Lake to both Jeffers Pond and Glendale
Scenario B
Expanding Hamilton Ridge to Prior Lake on the west side of Highway 13
Five Hawks expanding west of Revere and Eagle Creek south
Splitting the area north of Prior Lake to both Jeffers Pond and Glendale
Scenario C
Splitting southern part of district between Five Hawks and Redtail Ridge
Splitting area north of Prior Lake between Jeffers Pond and Glendale
Hamilton Ridge north of Eagle Creek to South Park central to southeast side of Prior Lake
Scenario D
Expanding Hamilton Ridge to County Road 42 south and west of Highway 13 to Prior Lake
Splitting the northwest side of Prior Lake between Jeffers Pond and Glendale
Splitting the southern portion of the district between Redtail Ridge and Five Hawks
Scenario E
Splitting the area northwest of Prior Lake between Jeffers Pond and Glendale
Expanding Hamilton Ridge from Eagle Creek to 150th Street west of Highway 13
Expanding Redtail Ridge from east of Highway 13 and north of 154th and from west of Highway 13 and north of 154th
When creating each possible scenario, the district considered the total number of students impacted, the distribution of various student groups, and how the proposed scenarios would impact each school building’s capacity limits. The district will also discuss each scenario’s possible impact on bus routes and travel times with its bus company.
Based on the expected housing starts for the cities of Prior Lake and Savage, Powers stated that the district should not need to make similar boundary adjustments for an extended period of time.
“My hope is that, once this boundary adjustment is made, we could be good for ten years. That’s my hope,” he said.
The scenarios were presented to the Finance and Operations Advisory Committee during its Sept. 23 meeting. The goal was to come away from the presentation and discussion with the committee’s top two choices. There will also be a detailed analysis created for each boundary scenario.
The board will review maps of the two preferred boundary scenarios during the Oct. 27 board study session. The final proposed boundary change will be presented and voted on during the Nov. 10 regular school board meeting, prior to kindergarten registration for the 2026-27 school year that will open in December.
The district also sent the following information out to staff members and families within the PLSAS district on Sept. 23.
K-5 Attendance Boundary Update for 2026–27
At its September 22 meeting, the School Board reviewed several scenarios as part of the planning process for new elementary attendance boundaries starting in 2026–27. These changes will help the district optimize resources and respond to current and projected enrollment as part of the site consolidation plan.
To guide planning, the district is using “base numbers.” These assume that all La ola del lago (LODL), open-enrolled students and students placed in specialized programs are planned for separately. All students currently attending a school through an In-District Transfer (IDT) will return to their home school. Using these base numbers helps us fairly evaluate different boundary options. The district is also assuming stable enrollment and demographics consistent with 2025–26. Beginning in 2026–27, La ola del lago and SAGE 5th-grade students will be located at WestWood.
After new K-5 attendance boundaries are approved in November, current resident families may be eligible to apply for an In-District Transfer (IDT) under special circumstances.
Following any IDT considerations, non-resident families who are currently open-enrolled in PLSAS will remain enrolled in the district. However, in alignment with state statute, these families will be asked again to indicate their top three elementary school preferences, which the district will take into account when making placements.
The Kindergarten enrollment process for the 2026–27 school year will begin this December.
In addition to our Guiding cChange Parameters, any new boundary option must meet basic criteria: boundaries must be contiguous, schools must remain within capacity limits, each building should have up to four sections per grade, students must have equitable access to programs and transportation costs cannot increase significantly.
What’s next
The Finance & Operations Committee will continue refining the scenarios and narrowing the boundary options, with the School Board set to review them at its Oct. 27 meeting.
The district will continue to share updates throughout this process. More details, including FAQs, can be found anytime at www.plsas.org/site-consolidation