Prior Lake High looks for more room; task force looks for answers

By SARAH LEMAGIE, Star Tribune

Last update: October 14, 2009 - 8:15 PM

Tight quarters at Prior Lake High School could mean changes next year, but so far, an effort to find more room for students has created more questions than answers.

A task force of residents in the Prior Lake-Savage School District has been meeting this fall to come up with a plan to relieve a space shortage at the six-year-old building, which is already over capacity. The group hasn't reached any conclusions, but they have brainstormed a long list of ideas, school officials said at a public forum Monday night.

The possibilities range from small fixes such as "repurposing" rooms to dramatic changes such as making school year-round, but few suggestions have been fleshed out in detail.

Modest fixes may be the best route for now, said Superintendent Sue Ann Gruver, partly because the district is little more than a year away from fresh enrollment projections that will be available after the 2010 census. Before making any big changes, such as moving ninth graders to the district's middle schools, "I would like to have that data in front of me," she said.

District employees are researching the group's options this month to answer basic questions such as how much they would cost, Gruver said.

Students got a little extra elbow room when the high school added a fifth lunch period this fall. Administrators also closed the school to new students from outside district boundaries last winter, and a few students went to the district's new alternative learning center this fall. Those changes helped, but they didn't solve the problem.

The task force has talked about opening a magnet or charter school, creating a special center for seniors or freshmen, or freeing up space by offering more online classes, among other ideas.

One option the task force is not considering: a bond referendum to build an addition at the high school.

In 2007, area voters rejected a $28.9 million proposal to add 100,000 square feet to the building. Task force members told the school board last year that they still believed an addition was the best way to solve overcrowding. But given today's economy, the group has said it will not seek a tax increase through a bond referendum.

The task force has bounced around the idea of leasing or building classroom space with a lease levy, a funding mechanism that allows districts to raise local taxes without voter approval for certain building needs. But school officials are mindful that many residents wouldn't be thrilled about that solution.

"We're researching it, but in our thinking, the parameters say, 'No new tax dollars,'" Gruver said.

Prior Lake High School, which was designed to hold 2,000 students, now has about 2,140. District officials believe that number will grow by more than 300 in the next three years.

This fall, many high school classes have more than 30 students, raising room temperatures in some jam-packed classrooms. Teaching space is so tight that more than half of the school's staff members have to switch rooms, and some move between three different rooms during the day.

Students tend to act up if they feel like sardines in a can, and Principal Dave Lund has said the school could see an uptick in behavior problems if nothing changes.

The task force plans to make a recommendation to the school board on Nov. 9, and the board could vote on a plan for the 2010-11 school year as soon as Nov. 23.

Sarah Lemagie • 952-882-9016