But with growing concern about the results, community members say regardless of if the district is at fault, the results are worrisome — and some hope to become involved in the process of solving the problem.

"I guess I should take comfort in the fact that there are other districts that share the commonality of disproportionality, but I don't," said board Vice Chair Gary Smith. "It may be a national problem, but I think we have to own this and take local responsibility to get some results."

Smith said he wants to prioritize engaging with community members to come up with solutions.

Kolloh Nimley, with the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage was one of the first to respond with concern. She and Assistant Superintendent Brenda Lewis have set the date for a community engagement session to get input and solicit involvement from community members. The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 7 with a location to be determined.

The district will present the data and discuss ways to solve the problem, but one of the outstanding questions is why this disparity is happening in the first place, said Don Barlow, a community member and pastor with Rochester Community Baptist Church. Barlow addressed the board Tuesday night in the public comments portion.

The compliance review ended in a compliance agreement with OCR, the specifics of which are being implemented. Already the district created a new special assignment principal position for "culturally responsive teaching and learning." It is possible the district will re-assess its disciplinary policy, and it is continuing to implement Positive Behavior Interventions and Support.

The district is working with Great Lakes Equity Center, an Indianapolis-based Department of Education initiative that provides "technical assistance, resources and professional learning opportunities related to equity, civil rights and systemic school reform," for the Midwest, according to its website.

The specifics of that partnership will be discussed at the community meeting as well as looking at possible causes for the higher rates of suspension.

"I think it is important before a strategy can truly be developed the reasons for the suspensions or expulsions should be identified," Barlow said. He expects the board will be "highly responsive and highly accountable" to sharing the data and the reasons behind it.

Of the students who received office referrals in the 2014-15 school year, 63 percent of those came from less than 5 percent of students, according to the district's analysis.

Of the district's almost 17,500 students, 64 percent are white; 14 percent are black; 9 percent are Hispanic and 12 percent are Asian.

But Rochester is not alone, the district looked at comparable districts, including Mankato, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale and South Washington County, all of which had similar rates of disproportionate discipline.

But school board members weren't exactly comforted by that Tuesday night.

"Let's be a leader, and let's be proactive and be a leader about remedies we can do to move in the right direction here," Smith said.