High school performing arts magnet program at crossroads

Plans for a high school magnet program in Burnsville's new performing arts center are at a crossroads, with some school board members pushing to open a stand-alone school even if it means delays and others worried about losing the arts center to a competitor if the program doesn't start next fall.

Magnet students would spend part of the school day at the arts center, which is under construction, but the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage board was sharply divided this week over whether students should take core classes at Burnsville High School, as the district has planned, or try to find classroom space within walking distance.

"I do have a sense of urgency," board Chairwoman Vicki Roy said during a five-hour work session Wednesday night at which the board discussed the performing arts magnet and two other planned magnet programs.

Roy and several other board members worried that longtime Burnsville resident Terry Tofte, executive director of the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, might jump in and lease space for a charter school in the performing arts center if the district doesn't act soon enough.

Lining up stand-alone space could take longer -- and would cost more -- than having students spend half of each day at Burnsville High School. But some board members oppose housing the program at the high school, saying the magnet program will attract more students if it has a separate facility where they could spend more time together and avoid shuttling to the high school, which is a mile away.

"I don't think people in Burnsville are going to be burning us in effigy because we delayed it a year to do it right," said board member Dan Luth.

Meanwhile, Tofte, who told the district this fall that he would be interested in opening a Burnsville performing arts school if the district doesn't, said Thursday that he will continue to hold off on plans for a charter school if he believes the district is serious about starting the magnet program in the next couple of years.

Top choice among students

Still, he added, "If the district chooses not to do that, then another party should have the opportunity to."

The district envisions a performing arts magnet program that would serve up to 300 students in grades 9-12 and offer courses in theater, dance and string instruments. When the district surveyed parents and students last year to find out which magnet programs they wanted, a performing arts program was the top choice among students.

The district has several classrooms available at Diamondhead Education Center, down the street from the arts center, but the magnet program would need more space, Assistant Superintendent Aldo Sicoli said. Renting classroom space, said board member Gail Morrison, "would be very difficult to justify when we aren't facing a space shortage."

Prompted by the board, Sicoli and Superintendent Randall Clegg said Wednesday that they would look into rental space and rates nearby and report back next week.

STEM vote due next week

The district also has been planning a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program at William Byrne Elementary and Metcalf Junior High, and a gifted-and-talented program at Harriet Bishop Elementary. The board is slated to vote on the STEM program Thursday, with final approval of the other programs targeted for Nov. 6.

The magnet programs are part of an integration plan that the district developed to help lessen a racial imbalance with the Lakeville district. Students of color make up 12 percent of the Lakeville district, compared to 38 percent in Burnsville-Eagan-Savage.

State law requires neighboring districts whose minority populations differ by more than 20 percentage points to address the disparity and gives them money to do it. Magnet schools are often used in desegregation efforts because they can lure students across district lines voluntarily.