Lawmakers OK funds to keep troubled Perpich arts school open

The state-run Perpich Center for Arts Education and its namesake Golden Valley arts high school survived a legislative attempt to close them this session.

Funding for the Perpich Center continues under the education bill Gov. Mark Dayton signed this week.

"The way I say it is that we're on probation," said Perpich board chair Ben Vander Kooi, adding that he's focused on addressing concerns brought up in a January legislative audit that led some lawmakers to push for Perpich's closure.

The center is hiring a new director this summer and is planning to rebuild outreach to schools, Vander Kooi said.

"It really is in a major state of disrepair," he acknowledged. "But we have a committee, an outreach committee that was formed that has been digging deep into that issue."

The legislation requires yearly reports to the Legislature on outreach and enrollment and achievement at the high school. Vander Kooi also said Crosswinds Arts and Science School in Woodbury, which Perpich now runs, will be transferred to a new owner, hopefully by the fall. The St. Paul and South Washington County school districts have expressed interest in the school.