What’s new in schools: Expansions, renovations await students

School is nearly back in session, and area districts continue to work on building projects to meet the needs of their students.

Whether it’s building expansions, gym renovations or new playground equipment, here’s a look at the work being done in Sioux Falls, Tea, Brandon and Harrisburg districts.

Brandon Valley School District

The number of students enrolled at Brandon Valley High School for this school year increased to 1,350 students. That’s just 50 short of the building’s capacity, Superintendent Jarod Larson said.

So the high school building expansion set to begin construction this fall comes just at the right time.

The construction, which will increase capacity to over 2,000 students, will be completed in fall 2023 and cost about $10 million. The entirety of the project is paid for through the district’s capital outlay reserves, so there wasn’t an additional tax request to residents.

“This will set us up for decades to come,” Larson said.

The expansion includes more classrooms, special education classroom space and science lab classrooms.

The school district plans to build another elementary school on the east side of Brandon in the next few years. It also will build another intermediate school on the south side of town in the next five years.

Harrisburg School District

Construction is continuing on Harrisburg’s two major building projects this year, including East Middle School, near 69th Street and Southeastern Avenue, and the future Freshman Academy, near 85th Street and Cliff Avenue.

Construction crews took advantage of a mild winter and got plenty of work done ahead of schedule for the middle school, Superintendent Tim Graf said.

The Freshman Academy, which will help the district adjust to larger class sizes before eventually becoming a second high school, is slightly behind schedule. Graf said crews are playing catchup from wet weather this spring, but they’re making good progress now.

The academy will be designed to hold a full commons space and library space. A competition gym and performing arts center will be added when it becomes a fully fledged high school campus.

“We expect to be at capacity in our current high school soon, and we need some relief as classes start moving up,” Graf said. “We weren’t ready to split for activity and class reasons, and we couldn’t build a high school unless we raised taxes. We want to keep those stable right now.”

The district also is looking at ways to give some relief at Liberty Elementary, which is bursting at the seams. There are no official building plans in the works yet.

Harrisburg also added visitor bleachers to its football stadium this year, costing just under $500,000 with a capacity of over 1,000 people. The addition is intended for visiting metro schools, which have been filling up the stadium in recent years.

Sioux Falls School District

The Sioux Falls School District has several projects in the works, focusing efforts on building renovations and additions to Washington and Roosevelt high schools. Both schools are expanding their fitness centers, building additions and renovating their gymnasiums.

The gyms should be done by the time school starts, said Jeff Kreiter, the district’s senior director of operational services. The work include complete renovations, including new bleachers for both schools.

Work will continue on the fitness centers and additions, with both projects scheduled for completion in August 2023.

Another two-year project in the works is JFK Elementary, where extensive work is being done to add a gymnasium to the building and renovate classrooms. Parents will notice a new drop-off area and staff parking lot because of the construction.

When the new JFK gym is ready next spring, renovations will turn the old gym into a music room, Kreiter added.

Cleveland Elementary’s major building project is planned to be done this August, which includes a new gym, rebuilt parking lot and new playground. Construction crews are finishing fencing and landscaping before the school year starts.

Other projects around the district include new playground equipment at JFK, Garfield and Robert Frost elementaries and installation of new football field turf at Lincoln High School. New football fields will be installed at Roosevelt and Washington next summer.

Tea Area School District

Tea residents voted in favor of a $39 million bond in June that will fund a major expansion of the high school, passing with an 86 percent vote.

The Tea Area School District expects 900 new students over the next five years, which is why the expansion will essentially double the high school, adding 25 classrooms, a performing arts theater, auxiliary gym, wrestling room and renovated fitness centers.

“Basically, we’re taking the old choir and band rooms and converting them into fitness spaces and building new fine arts amenities,”  Superintendent Jennifer Lowrey said.

While there aren’t any holes dug up just yet, the project is expected to go to bid in late 2022, and Lowrey plans to break ground in spring of 2023.

Other minor projects in the works include choir and band rooms being added onto Legacy Elementary. An early July storm twisted the steel at the construction site, causing major damage and setting the project back a few months. The new wing is planned to finish in October now.

The district also is increasing the amount of adaptive playground equipment at elementary schools. However, the equipment has yet to be installed because they are backordered. Lowrey hopes to have the playgrounds updated in the fall.

“We’re really looking at how we can serve our community and meet the needs of all our kids,” she said.