South school briefs: Prior Lake-Savage to open school before Labor Day

District to open school before Labor DayConstruction work at area schools will force the Prior Lake-Savage School District to start classes before Labor Day next school year.

District-wide facility improvements totaling more than $400,000 allowed the district to get special permission from the state Department of Education to begin school before Labor Day next fall.

Some of the projects include deferred maintenance and health and safety items, such as roof replacements and work on the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.

School will start for the 2013-14 school year on Aug. 26 and end on May 29, 2014. Ending the school year earlier will allow the district time to complete the construction projects prior to the arrival of students in fall 2014.

School will begin after Labor Day in the 2014-15 school year after, the district said.

Board members' pay will not changeMembers of the Burnsville school board have voted to keep their 2013 pay the same as the past five years.

The members voted at their last meeting in January that they would be paid $500 a month each. The chair will receive $50 more per month.

At a previous meeting, Jim Schmid was elected vice chair and Dan Luth was elected treasurer. Other members of the seven-person board are DeeDee Currier, Ron Hill and Paula Teiken.

School calendars will remain the sameThe Rosemount School District has approved its calendars for the next two school years, with students returning after Labor Day both years.

The calendars for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 years are similar to the current school calendar, with 171 days of school for middle school and high school students and 169 days for elementary students.

The two-day difference is to allow time for summer literacy assessments in late August for all elementary students, which the district conducted for the first time this year and will continue in coming years.

Both calendars begin school on the Tuesday after Labor Day. There will be a two-week winter break. The spring break is the latter part of March.