School Board Extends Dates for St. Croix Meadows Rezoning and Closing

St. Croix Meadows purchase agreement was voted and agreed on to extend the original June 15 closing date until no later than December 31 for re-zoning contingency and closing.

Hudson citizen Curt Weese stated in a public comment during the meeting that “when [the Board of Education] modify[s] the contract with a purchase agreement you are in essence modifying the referendum. People voted on a referendum. Now what we are doing in this room is modifying it, I don’t believe that’s legal, including negotiating behind the scenes.”

Superintendent Mary Bowen-Eggebraaten stated that more time is needed to for additional information to be gathered before they make a final decision. They have also requested that they are given more information on other possible school sites before they make their final decision about the St. Croix Meadows purchase.

The St. Croix Meadows land is 126 acres and is expected to be $8.25 million.

Open enrollment applications were also discussed during the meeting. There are concerns among parents about overcrowding classrooms due to allowing students outside of the school district to attend Hudson schools.

District Deputy Director and Human Resources Director Nancy Sweet stated that they need to accept application of students outside of the district as long as there is room in the schools. And the Hudson School District would need to provide data that shows that schools are of capacity in order to turn a student away.

There is room to allow students outside of the district into the Hudson elementary schools, although there isn’t enough room in the middle schools and high schools for them to continue in the district after elementary school.