Construction Updates

On December 11, the School Board received a construction phasing plan for district-wide building projects that will continue through 2020. 

Five Hawks and Glendale elementary schools will have remodeling done to maximize existing space (paid for using existing funding sources) with completion expected in the fall of 2018. Remodeling and additions will also be made to Grainwood, WestWood and Edgewood in time for the 2019/20 school year. Jeffers Pond and Redtail Ridge elementary schools will each have two additional classrooms constructed, along with renovations, with completion expected in the fall of 2019.  

PLSAS is expecting to break ground on a new elementary school in the Big Sky Estates development in Savage in late spring of 2019, after Prior Lake Aggregates has completed mining in that area. The new elementary school will then open in the fall of 2020.

At the secondary level, design, bidding and construction phases for school projects will begin in 2018 for classroom additions and kitchen/cafeteria expansion to Prior Lake High School, additions/remodeling at the middle schools and the construction of Bridges Area Learning Center, which are slated to open in fall of 2019. Other high school construction projects including the secure front entrance and gyms will open in fall of 2020.

Additions or renovations will be made to Five Hawks, Glendale (paid for using existing funding sources), Jeffers Pond and Redtail Ridge elementary schools to be completed in time for the 2018/19 school year. The following elementary school designs were approved by the School Board at its February 12, 2018 meeting. 

Five Hawks
Glendale
Jeffers Pond
Redtail Ridge

To help ease crowding at the elementary level until the new school opens, the district is implementing the following short-term space solutions over the next two years with the goal of being as least disruptive as possible to students and families:

• Construction of two additional classrooms each at Redtail Ridge and Jeffers Pond to open in the 2018/19 school year.
• Continue to limit open enrollment for the 2018/19 school year up to 75 students in kindergarten and up to 1% of new students in grades 1-12.

In addition, the district is considering implementing the following additional short-term space solutions:

• Use existing, non-traditional spaces for classrooms in elementary schools, such as computer labs and staff lounges.
• Lease space in the community for pre-kindergarten programs that are currently located in neighborhood schools.
• Maintain La ola del lago Spanish Immersion at Edgewood School for the next two years, while also utilizing space at neighboring WestWood Elementary for 4th and 5th grade immersion sections.
• Adjustments to class-size averages.

Attendance boundary changes
On March 26, 2018, the School Board approved 2018/19 boundary changes for Redtail Ridge and WestWood elementary schools. Approximately 60 Redtail Ridge students and approximately 16 WestWood students will attend Glendale Elementary in the fall of 2018. This decision was made to help ease crowding at Redtail Ridge and WestWood and make enrollment more equitable across the grade levels. Glendale families will not be switching attendance boundaries for the 2018/19 school year.  

 A process to determine comprehensive elementary boundary changes will be made prior to the opening of the new elementary school and will include stakeholder involvement.

Stakeholder Involvement

School planning is a community-wide, participatory process. To gain important stakeholder input, Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools (PLSAS) has assembled a Core Planning Group approach to ensure that the eventual design is truly representative of the entire school district community.

Core Planning Groups
Core Planning Groups will provide input for major construction projects including:
• Prior Lake High School (meets December 2017–March 2018)
• Bridges Area Learning Center (meets February–April 2018)
• New elementary school (meets July–September 2018)

Core Planning Groups consist of a cross-section of the users of each facility inclusive of staff, community representatives, site administration, parents and students (as appropriate). The goals and responsibilities of the Core Planning Groups are as follows:

Goals:
• Guide/Direct Design for expected new facilities
• Review Draft Concepts of Building Additions and Construction Projects
• Offer input, suggestions and perspective on the design and project
• Serve as a communication loop to site stakeholders for the project and seek input from the broader group of
site stakeholders regarding the project
• Make recommendations regarding the scope and components of the project

Responsibility:
• Make recommendations to the Leadership Administrative Design Team for inclusion in the design and project
scope

Building Instructional Leadership Teams
Planning for several smaller-scale additions and renovations is also underway with input being sought from Building Instructional Leadership Teams (BILTs) comprised of PLSAS staff and administrators. For facility and construction purposes, parent and community representation will be incorporated for the project scope. BILTs provide input to the Facilities Steering Committee.

On March 26, 2018, the School Board approved 2018/19 boundary changes for Redtail Ridge and WestWood elementary schools. Approximately 60 Redtail Ridge students and approximately 16 WestWood students will attend Glendale Elementary in the fall of 2018. This decision was made to help ease crowding at Redtail Ridge and WestWood and make enrollment more equitable across the grade levels. Glendale families will not be switching attendance boundaries for the 2018/19 school year.  

 A process to determine comprehensive elementary boundary changes will be made prior to the opening of the new elementary school and will include stakeholder involvement.