Chaska, Chanhassen consider Missota
At a recent school board meeting, the Eastern Carver School District (formerly Chaska school district) discussed a possible move of the district's two high schools, Chaska and Chanhassen, into the Missota Conference.
According to a post this week on the school district's website, the topic will again be discussed at the school board's meeting on Thursday, June 25, and the board may consider a resolution to have the two schools apply to join the Missota.
Conference realignment has been a big topic of discussion in the south metro area this year since the Classic Lake Conference voted to disband after the 2009-10 school year. None of the four schools has been accepted into a conference and it is expected that at least two of the schools-Edina and Minnetonka-would be added to the Lake Conference, making it a 14-team conference. Chaska and Chanhassen would be two of the smallest schools in that conference. Chaska was a Missota Conference member for about four years in the early 1990s, but left for the Lake Conference due to rapid growth. That continued growth has led to a second high school-Chanhassen-opening this fall in the district. Projected enrollment is 1,300 at each of the schools in the fall of 2010, when the change would take place. That would put them in the middle of the conference in terms of enrollment, behind Prior Lake (2,003), Shakopee (1,638) and Farmington (1,494). Other teams in the conference are Northfield (1,199), New Prague (1,072), Red Wing (833) and Holy Angels (797). Hutchinson, which is the smallest school in the Missota, is leaving for the Wright County Conference after the 2009-10 school year.
If Chaska and Chanhassen were to leave the Lake, that might not be the end of the changes. There has been discussion that Apple Valley, Eagan, Eastview, Rosemount, Lakeville North, Lakeville South and possibly Burnsville could form a new league, with Hastings from the Suburban East and Farmington from the Missota also being considered. The league would be called the Dakota County Conference.
