A twelve-member Minneapolis Public Schools delegation is in Boston for the Council of the Great City Schools fall conference, an excursion that will cost the district $18,452.99.

Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson, associate superintendents Mark Bonine and Michael Thomas, lobbyist Jim Grathwol, assistant to the superintendent Adrienne Jordan and seven of the district's eight school board members traveled out east for the six-day event.

Jenny Arneson, Carla Bates, Jill Davis, Rebecca Gagnon, Lydia Lee, Richard Mammen and Alberto Monserrate are the board members who made the trip. Their colleague, Hussein Samatar, chose not to attend.

The registration fees for Superintendent Johnson, school board chair Jill Davis and Lydia Lee, a Council of the Great City Schools national representative, were waived, saving the district $525.

More than 60 school systems, including St. Paul, belong to the Council of the Great City Schools, a coalition of the nation's largest urban school districts.

"The Council provides leadership support and best practice insight to new and veteran school board members from around the nation," district spokeswoman Rachel Hicks wrote in an e-mail to the Star Tribune.

"It also gives the [Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education], superintendent and administrators the opportunity to consult and network with other board members and superintendents from similiar districts as well as the national experts on everything from upcoming legislation to academic programs which are gaining results for kids."

Here's a link to the Council of the Great City Schools website and a list of its member districts. Representatives from the Minneapolis schools travel to the conference each year, district spokesman Stan Alleyne said.

[Education] is complicated work," Alleyne said. "It's good to compare what you're doing with others."

The Minneapolis delegation will see an old acquaintance in Boston. Former Minneapolis superintendent Carol Johnson now serves as superintendent of Boston Public Schools.

Here's a list of the Minneapolis conference expenses:

Name

Airfare

Hotel*

Registration**

Jennifer Arneson

$292.00

$909.88 @ 3 nights

$175

Carla Bates

469.40

$1,213.17 @ 4 nights

$175

Mark Bonine

469.40

$1,213.17 @ 4 nights

$175

Jill Davis

470.84

$1,213.17 @ 4 nights

0 – waived for Board Chair

Rebecca Gagnon

292.00

$175

Jim Grathwol

441.44

$909.88 @ 3 nights

$175

Bernadeia Johnson

440.00

$909.88 @ 3 nights

0 – waived for Supt.

Adrienne Jordan

316.00

$1,213.17 @ 4 nights

$175

Lydia Lee

439.40

$909.88 @ 3 nights

Waived – national officer

Richard Mammen

317.00

$1,213.17 @ 4 nights

$175

Alberto Monserrate

329.40

$1,213.17 @ 4 nights

$175

Michael Thomas

469.40

$1,213.17 @ 4 nights

$175

Total

$4,746.28

$12,131.71

$1,575.00

*Hotel rate $265 per night plus 14.45% taxes/fees

**Registration fee covers all expenses for the conference including meals

Total expenses for Minneapolis Public Schools delegation: $18,452.99