Hi K.,
I am also a mom of a child with some special needs and I used to be a teacher - so I can give you a little insight into a couple of schools I know pretty well. Mahtomedi is an outstanding school district for kids who will be on 4 year college bound - it's on par with many of the private schools for AP and other advanced course offerings and has great programs and community support. Not so great in the areas of special ed though. sorry.
I don't know much about St. Francis but I can tell you that the Mounds View school district is a first choice for many parents of mixed ability children. The district has the best spec. ed services I have ever experienced and there are 2 separate high schools so your "typical" kid would have a lot of choices too. Both of the high schools are very highly ranked every year and have good programs and athletics. They also have aggressive open enrollment so you can almost always pick any of the schools in the district as long as you are a resident.
I hope that helps.
~N.