After discussing the key takeaways from the town hall meetings conducted by the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District, its board of directors approved at its March 9 meeting the creation of a brief survey to assess the community’s openness to supporting a levy in the upcoming fall election.

The district hosted three community meetings that were held during the month of February. Nearly 160 residents attended the meetings and were given an overview of the district’s current financial situation. Attendees then shared thoughts during round table discussions about why they chose to live in the district, its current challenges and potential avenues the district could pursue in the future.

In an executive summary, the district shared some of the top reasons cited by residents for choosing PLSAS, including:

• A strong sense of community and belonging
• High-quality, caring teachers and staff
• A strong academic reputation
• Opportunities such as E-STEM programming that focused on science, technology, engineering and math
• The district’s involvement in the Minnesota Center for Advanced Professional Studies (MNCAPS), special education and robust program offerings in academics, the arts, athletics and career pathways
• Inclusive programming that supports diverse learners
• Children who are happy, supported and thriving

Despite the district’s strengths, some town hall participants expressed concerns about its ability to sustain its current levels of success. They indicated the district’s financial strains and shrinking program offerings in recent years were already being felt by local families and staff. Some expressed that the effects of more cuts were top of mind.

When discussing the district’s challenges, several themes were consistently expressed, including the following:

• Misinformation and political division
• Funding instability
• Rising class sizes and staffing gaps
• Increasing student complexity
• Teacher retention and morale
• Program reductions
• Balancing innovation and fundamentals

Participants voiced their desire for clearer, more consistent and accurate information. Some noted confusion about how school funding works and concerns about the needs of students and teachers not being met.

When asked what it will take to get the district back on track, responses were focused on three main objectives:

• Reducing class size, increasing paraprofessional and mental health support services and retaining high-quality teachers
• Reinstating advanced and enrichment programming, expanding real-world and career pathways and ensuring differentiation for all learners
• Giving a clear explanation of the district’s funding realities, providing more explanation about what levy dollars would fund and how those dollars will impact not only programs and staffing but also the property values of community homeowners

Board members spent a significant amount of time during the meeting reviewing the ideas and concerns. Discussion included ways in which more feedback could be obtained from a larger portion of the district, specifically on how a new or updated levy vote would be perceived.

After considerable discussion, the board approved the creation of a short survey that would be available online to all community members. The questions are yet to be defined, but support for the levy, amounts that would be acceptable to voters and questions regarding issues that are most important to individual voters were possibilities suggested during the meeting.

It was also noted that the district needs to provide clear information about what it would cost to maintain the status quo for the next year; to maintain current operations for three or more years; or to fulfill a popular request, such as reducing class sizes.

“If it’s going to cost people $100 a month to reduce class sizes, they need to know that,” board member Jessica Mason noted.

Superintendent Michael Thomas said he will discuss costing options with other administrators and have that information available, along with a survey mock-up, for board approval at the March 23 study session.

Editor’s note: The survey questions to be included in the survey have not yet been finalized as was originally stated in this story.