School Board approves plan to withdraw from EMID

The North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale School Board has decided to move forward with a plan to withdraw its membership from the East Metro Integration District and form its own integration collaborative.

Withdrawing from EMID will not be implemented until the 2009-2010 school year and District 622 will retain its membership in EMID for the 2008-2009 school year.

EMID is a public school district made up of the St. Paul Public School District and nine suburban school districts in the eastern Twin Cities metro area. EMID is a collaborative effort that was established to foster voluntary integration among the partner districts. To its member districts, EMID provides a multicultural resource center, professional development and youth programming opportunities. EMID also runs two public schools, which students from the member districts are able to attend. Both Harambee Community Cultures/Environmental Science School and Crosswinds Arts and Science School provide year-round schooling and a unique focus.

District 622 Supt. Patty Phillips and EMID Supt. Carl Whalstrom are both of the opinion that if parents in District 622 still wish to continue sending their children to Harambee or Crosswinds, they could do so via Minnesota’s Open Enrollment Program. Under the Open Enrollment statute, parents are responsible for providing their own transportation.

As of this year, District 622’s population has reached the point of being labeled “racially isolated” from its neighboring school districts. This means that District 622 schools have at least 20 percent or more students of color when compared to our adjoining districts of Stillwater and Mahtomedi. Because of this, District 622 now has the option to remain in EMID or form its own collaboration with another school district.

A task force was established to study data, weigh the pros and cons and make a recommendation regarding whether District 622 should remain with EMID or form a new collaborative.

During the committee meetings, members heard from EMID administrators, the Minnesota Department of Education’s Administrator for School Choice and equity coordinators from Stillwater and Mahtomedi. The group also gathered data on program information, budgets, test scores and demographics. They spent time reviewing parent and student survey results as well as the state’s desegregation rule.

After reviewing all of the information, the task force voted unanimously to recommend that District 622 form its own collaborative for these reasons:

a. It would provide District 622 more autonomy to plan programs and serve students and families, thus allowing the district to focus more on student achievement with data-driven programs and measurable outcomes.

b. It would allow the district to create an equitable payment schedule for participating districts.

c. It would impact a larger percentage of District 622 students, including secondary students, than are currently being served by EMID.

After gathering all of the data and information, the committee presented its recommendation to the Superintendent and administrators. The School Board heard the recommendation at a Study Session on Jan. 15 and then voted to withdraw from EMID at the Jan. 22 School Board Meeting.

Over the coming months District 622 will be working on a plan for what a new collaborative will look like. This will be an extensive process that will involve stakeholders from our district, the community and future partners.