09-25-2013 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 ROSEVILLE Roseville Area School Superintendent John Thein appeared before the AREA Council to update then on issues related to the School District. Thein SCHOOLS- provided detailed data relative to enrollment, noting that first day SUPERIN- enrollment increased by 8.6% in 2013. The majority of this increase is TENDENT due to the fact that the district has absorbed the Harambee School, which JOHN THEIN resulted in an increase of 603 students. Without the addition of the Harambee School, District 623's increase is 2.4 %. Thein reviewed elementary school enrollments, pointing out that 2013 first day elementary enrollment (without the Harambee School) is up 4.3% with first day enrollment at Little Canada Elementary School up by 13.9 %. Thein attributed the substantial increase at Little Canada Elementary in part to the dual emersion program that started with the 2012 school year. Thein reviewed secondary enrollment, noting that without the addition of the Harambee School, secondary enrollment is up by .01%. Enrollment at Roseville Area Middle School (located in Little Canada) is up 4.7 %. With regard to secondary education, Thein reviewed the various options that area available noting that the District offers Fairview Alternative High School as an option. Thein reviewed demographic data for District 623 pointing out that the district is becoming more diverse. Hispanic students are the fastest growing segment of the student population. Thein reported that English is not the primary language for14% of the student population, and noted that there are 53 different languages spoken in the homes of the student population. Thein reported that there will be a School District election on Tuesday, November 5, 2013. Three School Board seats are up for election and there will be a request for renewal of the current referendum which expires on June 30, 2014. Thein estimated that renewal of the levy referendum will not change property taxes, and may, in fact, reduce property taxes. For School District election information citizens can visit www.isd623.org. Thein then compared school taxes by district, and pointed out that the Roseville School District No. 623 has the lowest school property taxes on a home with a $250,000 estimated market value of any of the Ramsey County school districts. Thein reported that 623 has worked to provide the best education to students while keeping costs low. 2