CC_Minutes_2008_0625Special Session

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Special Joint Meeting Roseville City Council and the Roseville Area School Board, District No. 623 Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Page 2 three (3) areas were evident in those discussions: inclusive community, engage- ment, and how to work together to ensure good citizen engagement and dialogue. Ms. Edstrom opined that the community's diversity was an enviable strength in the community; and encouraged ways to embrace and celebrate that diversity. Ms. Edstrom further opined that a way to embrace that cultural and intergenera- tional diversity was through education and lifelong learning opportunities; and expressed the interest heard in the subcommittee in partnering with the City and School District to provide community programs and mentorship opportunities to strengthen all demographic categories. Clerk Majerus concurred, opining that community demographics continue to change, and both the School District and the City needed to be proactive, rather than reactive, cooperatively achievable through recognizing mutual goals and missions. City Manager Malinen noted a current opportunity being planned by the City's Human Rights Commission regarding opening dialogue on diversity, and their proposed Community Forum scheduled in October of 2008; and welcomed all to participate in this initial venture to develop an understanding and awareness of cultural differences. Mr. Malinen noted that the proposed forum was modeled af- ter asuccessful United Way program recently held in Shoreview. Mayor Klausing encouraged all present at the table to participate informally in this brainstorming discussion. Mayor Klausing noted a previous presentation by Peg Kennedy, I.S.D. 623 Manager of Youth Development Programs that provided enlightening information and statistics on the changing nature of demographics in the School District. Mayor Klausing opined that the presentation was excellent and thought-provoking; and noted that he'd received good feedback from the community and interest in available opportunities. Councilmember Tammy Pust concurred; opining that Ms. Kennedy's presentation had also been provided to other community civic organizations. Councilmember Dan Roe, referencing the Imagine final report, the initial process and ongoing prioritization of goals and strategies, encouraged that the document be used beyond city government, and be viewed as a community document for the School Board to embrace formally or informally as it made decisions for I.S.D. 623. Councilmember Roe noted that the goals and strategies that were developed affected the lives of families in the community. I Councilmember Pust concurred; and suggested development of measurements for the School Board and City to report back to each other, in addition to ongoing community input, to make the document less static and continually providing for open forums to receive public input.