In 2010, 92 percent of Austin seniors walked across the graduation stage and accepted diplomas. Area school officials are saying that’s not good enough.

By 2014, district leaders want 97 percent of students from Austin, Hayfield, Albert Lea, Lyle and Southland graduating from high school, and they hope the state Legislature doesn’t cut funding that could help them reach that goal.

According to Kristi Beckman, the integration coordinator for the five district-collaborative, by having 97 percent of the collaborative’s students graduating by 2014, district officials can decrease the significant achievement gap between students of color and their white peers.

“We want to have high expectations for students,” Beckman said. “We felt that by raising the overall graduation rate, we would also be working to help decrease the achievement gap.”

In Austin, 302 of 328 high school seniors graduated in 2010, or about 92 percent according to the MDE. Of the 302 who graduated, only 26 seniors of color graduated out of 40 total students, or about 65 percent. Of 288 white students, 276 graduated, about 95 percent.

The school board approved an updated integration plan under the Acollaborative during its monthly meeting Monday. The plan is largely the same as the district’s first integration plan, with a few more measures to hold integration staff accountable.

Also included in the next integration plan will be afterschool programming, called Afterschool Academy, that hundreds of district students are participating in this year. Since afterschool programs like Sumner Elementary School’s Constellations Program, Southgate’s Voyageurs Club, Neveln’s Hip Hop Club and Banfield’s TAG team program have proven very popular, district officials want to continue these courses next year.

That could prove difficult if state legislators change integration funding. Mark Stotts, the district’s director of finance and operations, said in January there were rumors from St. Paul that state legislators were looking to reform state integration funding, either drastically restructuring or doing away with it entirely. The reason for this, according to Stotts, was because legislators couldn’t measure the success of initiatives districts use integration funding for.

Board members took note of the rumors Monday evening, as Vice Chairman Dick Lees commented on how the plan could drastically change if funding was cut.

“With the present legislature, it doesn’t look good,” Lees said during the meeting.

About 70 percent of Austin’s integration budget comes from state funding, with about 30 percent coming from levies. If Austin loses the majority of its integration funding, which was $619,000 this year and projected to be about $639,000 next year, it would seriously affect several diversity efforts the district has in place, namely the success coaches employed at each school in the district. District officials would have to decide whether to pay success coaches from general fund money if state integration funding ceased, Stotts said.

Until district officials know what will happen with their integration funds, they will continue to plan as though no changes will be made.

“We plan optimistically and do the best we can … trying to create the plan that’s best for students,” Beckman said.