A plan to turn one of Lakeville's elementary schools into a magnet school is off the table, the school board decided Monday night.
The Lakeville school board halted plans for transforming Oak Hills Elementary into a science and math magnet school in the fall of 2010, with several board members citing concerns about whether the district could sustain the new program.
The proposed magnet school had been a key part of Lakeville's portion of an integration plan with the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage district, which has a much higher percentage of minority students. State law requires neighboring districts with large disparities in their minority populations to find more ways for their students to interact voluntarily and gives them money to do it.
Lakeville school employees and community members -- with the board's blessing -- have spent months studying and designing the magnet school, which was pursued largely as a way to attract students across district boundaries.
But three of the six board members balked at approving detailed plans, saying they were concerned about approving a new program during a tough financial time, when state funding for education could be sliced and cuts in Lakeville could mean closing an elementary school in the fall of 2010.
Supporters of the magnet school pointed out that state integration dollars would pay to launch the program, which they argued would improve learning for all students and keep more children in the district.
District administrators had proposed to spend $275,000 next year planning the magnet school and an additional $625,000 in its first year of operation.
The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage district plans to launch several new magnet programs this fall as part of the integration effort, and 37 Lakeville students have already been accepted into those programs, said Todd Olson, the Lakeville district's integration and equity coordinator.
