Star Tribune
Petition aims to move Eastern Carver County graduations from Grace Church
If Eli Frost has his way, the Chaska High class of 2024 will have a different graduation venue than the one the suburban school has used for more than a decade.
The southwest metro district, which enrolls about 9,300 students, has for years held its commencement ceremonies for Chaska and Chanhassen high schools at Grace Church in Eden Prairie. In late May, Frost, a Chaska High sophomore, petitioned the school board to consider a change, arguing it’s a matter of separating church and state to make sure everyone feels welcome.
In the petition that’s since garnered more than 400 signatures, Frost objects to the church’s opposition to divorce and asserts that the church leaders have espoused anti-LGBTQ views.
“I know I and many other people didn’t want it to be held at a church, period,” Frost said.
Troy Dobbs, senior pastor, declined an interview, but in a statement said that although Grace Church does “affirm the teaching of the Bible regarding gender, marriage, and divorce,” it does not discriminate against anyone.
“We welcome everyone,” he wrote.
It’s not unusual for districts with several high schools or large high schools to host their graduation ceremonies off-campus, especially when enrollment tops 1,200 per building. The Anoka-Hennepin and Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan districts have hosted some ceremonies at the Maturi Pavilion at the University of Minnesota.
Other districts have contracted with Minneapolis Convention Center, Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Target Center or U.S. Bank Stadium.
But it is rare for metro-area districts to host graduations at a place of worship. The Eastern Carver County and Shakopee districts have both contracted with Grace Church this year.
Shakopee district officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Eastern Carver County Schools officials say some parents and students have complained in the past about the church as a graduation venue. But the opposition has been more pronounced since Frost’s petition.
“It wasn’t on this level before,” said Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams.
The church in Eden Prairie checks several boxes that district officials and the school board consider when choosing a venue for commencement ceremonies. Grace Church’s auditorium seats about 7,000 — about three times the capacity of Chanhassen High’s football stadium, the largest venue in the district.
That means students can invite as many friends and family as they’d like.
“To see whole families wrap around their graduates, that’s huge,” Sayles-Adams said.
The facility is also air-conditioned. And because the church already broadcasts its services, the auditorium is set up to easily livestream the commencement ceremony for friends and family who can’t make it.
The church’s centralized location — it’s less than a 15-minute drive from both of the district’s high schools — also means the whole Eastern Carver County district can celebrate together with graduations on the same day, back-to-back.
District spokeswoman Celi Haga said students enjoy seeing peers they went to elementary and middle school with, but were then separated from for high school, between commencements.
“There aren’t a whole lot of school districts that do it all on the same day, so trying to keep the community together is a big thing,” Haga said.
But Frost said those amenities aren’t worth it when the venue may alienate some students and families of different faiths who don’t agree with the church’s teachings.
He understands that it might be more expensive to contract with another venue and that moving commencement to Minneapolis would extend the drive for Chaska and Chanhassen residents.
“That’s a worthwhile tradeoff,” Frost maintains.
District officials say they’ve heard from several community members who agree with Frost. They’ve also received emails from students and community members who want Grace Church to continue hosting the district’s graduation ceremonies.
The district will pay nearly $28,000 to use the church this year, Haga said. That includes $11,250 to rent the auditorium and $16,400 for traffic control, security, video production and language translation, among other things.
Eastern Carver County Schools’ contract with the venue comes up every year, Sayles-Adams said. And Frost’s petition has officials ready to consider whether to renew it.
“As a district, you listen and if necessary you make adjustments,” Sayles-Adams said.
“In here, it can be a very dark and lonely place, and it can be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Benson said. “Events like this just help keep that hope alive.”
While the incarcerated people listened, they were joined at tables by prison staff, guards, the warden, and others, including Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell, who stood against a brick wall. A couple of inmates, who work as photographers for the prison’s newspaper, strolled the cafeteria taking pictures.
When the performance went longer than expected, the warden smiled and gave the performers a thumbs up. He was fine with letting it continue. When it was done, the musicians took a handful of questions and signed flyers. Then inmates were guided back to their cells.
Hennepin County Board candidate Marisa Simonetti was arraigned in District Court on Thursday morning on a misdemeanor charge of 5th-degree assault after a dispute with a tenant of her Edina home.
Simonetti, who was arrested and jailed in June on allegations that she assaulted the tenant by throwing a live tarantula and other objects at the woman, stayed in the court hallway Thursday while her attorney John Daly handled the routine appearance. Simonetti was given a Jan. 9 pre-trial date and plans to plead not guilty.
Wearing a campaign T-shirt, Simonetti said after the court proceeding that she’s done nothing wrong and plans to fight the charge “to the death.”
Simonetti said her campaign for the District 6 seat is going well and that she sent out “a ton of texts” last week. “We’re getting feedback, positive feedback. It’s going to be very exciting to see what happens on Nov. 5,” she said.
An email to Simonetti’s opponent, Commissioner Heather Edelson, was not immediately returned Thursday.
In April, Simonetti came in second in a six-candidate special primary for an open seat on the board and then lost the special election Edelson, a DFLer and former state representative. Simonetti has campaigned as a Republican, although some local Republicans have since pulled their support for her.
The board oversees the county’s $2.7 billion budget and 10,000 employees. Commissioners earn $122,225 annually.
District 6, which covers cities including Edina, Hopkins, Mound, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Long Lake, Shorewood and the northern portion of Eden Prairie.
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In her final season with the Ducks, Ionescu became the first NCAA Division I basketball player to record more then 2,000 career points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds. She dedicated the performance that put her over the edge to Bryant. “That was for him,” she told ESPN.
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