School Board Approves 10-year Facility Plan, Bond Election Set for Aug. 9

During the regular school board business meeting on Thursday, April 21, the school board approved (6 to 1) the South Washington County Schools 10-year facility plan. Pending a successful bond election on Aug. 9, 2022, the districtwide plan is estimated to cost $462.6 million which includes costs to finance the package. This equates to about $25 a month for the average value home in the district of $300,000. The plan includes:

Elementary Schools

$194.9 million

• Key upgrades and improvements for aging infrastructure (bathrooms, cafeterias, etc.)
• Renovations and construction of shared learning spaces, classrooms and additions to address student growth 
• Closure of Newport Elementary for transformation to an early learning center
• New Crestview Elementary building in a central district location
• Repurpose current Crestview building for the alternative high school
• New Pine Hill Elementary building to be built on-site
• Minimal attendance boundary changes districtwide

Early Learning

$1.7 million

• Expand early learning programming by repurposing Newport Elementary into an early learning center
• Liberty Ridge Site II will also continue as an early learning center

Middle Schools

$58.8 million

• Key upgrades and improvements for aging infrastructure (bathrooms, cafeterias, etc.)
• Renovations and construction to address growth in schools where it is occurring
• Construction of new, secured entryways 
• Current middle schools increase to approximately 1,400 students each
• Minimal attendance boundary changes districtwide

High Schools

$159.6 million

• Construction of classroom additions
• Expansion of cafeterias and kitchens
• Creation of multipurpose space for online learning
• Renovation of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) spaces
• Move South Washington Alternative High School to the current Crestview Elementary building
• Site redesign at Park and Woodbury High Schools to improve traffic flow and increase pedestrian safety
• Park High School Campus will include portions of the current Crestview Elementary campus
• Current high schools increase to 2,400 at Park High, 2,200 at Woodbury High and 2,500 at East Ridge High Schools

Special Education and Support Sites

$47.5 million

• Construction of a centrally-located District Service Center on new Crestview Elementary campus to consolidate support staff, community education, enrollment services and space for meetings and professional development
• Renovate the current District Service Center for Next Step and Pathways transition programming (18-21) and retain current warehouse and storage
• End current leases
• Renovate Central Park for use by SoWashCo Online, adult basic education and special education
• Construction of a satellite transportation space for additional school bus parking
• Purchase 120-160 acres of land for future use

Completion of large construction projects and the majority of attendance boundary changes would occur no earlier than fall 2025, pending a successful bond election on Aug. 9, 2022. 

The school board also approved:

• Issuance of general obligation school building bonds to provide funding for improvements to facilities through a special election on Aug. 9, 2022.
• A comprehensive listing of projects and findings to be submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education, which is required before holding a bond election, soliciting construction bids or issuing bonds for a project. 

Over the next 10 years, more than 3,500 potential new K-12 students are expected to move into the district. If we do nothing, current projections show that 15 schools will be over capacity by 2031. Learn more about the proposal, view enrollment projections and review the projects slated for each building or school site at sowashco.org/facilityplanning.