September 4, 2019

Construction begins on new elementary school

Construction begins on new elementary school

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

Three months after McKenzie County Public School District No. 1 officials and community members broke ground for Watford City’s second elementary school, the precast walls began going up last week.
According to Steve Holen, district superintendent, the new $35 million, 90,000-square foot school with a 600-student capacity, is scheduled to be open at the start of the 2020-21 school year.
“This is history in the making for our school district, as well as our community,” states Holen of the building of a second elementary school to meet the district’s growing enrollment. “It puts us in a whole new demographic. We’re not a small town anymore.”
The school district has seen its enrollment grow exponentially from 582 students in 2010 to a record enrollment of 1,974 at the start of the 2019-20 school year.
In order to meet the enrollment growth, three years ago the district built a new $53 million, 167,672-square foot high school and converted the old high school into an intermediate school.

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WATFORD CITY WEATHER