Parents and work group press Saint Paul Board for stable site for Tzu Chi Hmong programs

Parent leaders and members of a district facilities work group pressed the Saint Paul Board of Education on Dec. 2 to act on an interim facilities plan they say is necessary to preserve and grow Hmong language and culture programs.

At the Committee of the Board meeting, Zane Her, presenting on behalf of the Suki facilities work group, reviewed a multi‑year process that began with family requests for Hmong cultural options two decades ago and accelerated after program closures and mergers. The work group said it had evaluated three interim options — keeping programs split across three sites; bringing pre‑K back to the lower campus and moving fifth grade to the upper campus; and relocating Hmong studies to a vacant district building called Prosperity — and ultimately recommended the Prosperity option (A1) as the least disruptive way to strengthen and expand the Hmong studies curriculum.

The recommendation came against a backdrop of community frustration over enrollment…