Board approves pursuing Achievement and Integration aid to fund math interventions

The Big Lake Public School District board voted to pursue Achievement and Integration Aid (ANI) and join a multi-district collaborative with Saint Cloud Area Schools to expand academic and integration activities.

Linda, who presented the proposal, said the state aid program requires a three-year collaborative plan with goals in academic achievement, integration activities and professional development. Big Lake’s proposal emphasizes math: hiring a K–12 math interventionist/coach, restoring Math Corps supports at elementary schools and expanding dual-enrollment and student-success monitoring at the high school.

Linda summarized the district’s needs assessment and said the state’s revised eligibility rules allowed Big Lake to join the collaborative. She presented estimated annual revenue of about $311,000 for the district, which she said would be approximately $218,000 in state aid and $93,000 covered by a board-approved levy (approximately a 70/30 state-aid-to-levy split). Linda noted the exact amount can fluctuate by October student counts and state adjustments and that the letter of approval from MDE will arrive in June.

Board members asked whether the collaborative could impose requirements on local policy; Linda said the collaborative does not override board decisions but shared activities depend on partners (for example, Saint Cloud hosting components such as Common Ground). The board approved the motion to pursue ANI participation by voice vote; staff will submit the plan by the March 15 deadline and begin implementation tasks if state aid is confirmed.

What happens next: Staff will finalize the submission to the state by the March 15 deadline and return to the board with a finalized budget and implementation timeline when the state aid amount is confirmed.