WBSD7 School Bond Referendum 2024
The Plan
The plan is to build one new elementary school. This plan will increase elementary capacity by 600+ students and allow the District to bring 5th grade back into elementary schools from Williston Middle School Central Campus. Additionally, this solution will accommodate elementary facilities to operate at or below the goal of 25 students per classroom and start to reduce reliance on non-permanent modular classrooms, although not remove them until a second elementary project is approved.
The proposed school will be located in one of two areas of the community which is to be decided by WBSD#7 by end of March. One location is located in Williston Square (old airport), the second is near the intersection of 11th St W and 32nd Ave W. Each site will accommodate off-street pick-up and drop-off, busing, and playgrounds and fields for the facility.
The project is currently budgeted at a total project cost of $55M, inclusive of all construction costs, site acquisition costs, design costs, furniture, equipment, and site features. WBSD#7 is funding 36.3% of the total project costs from the Building Fund to bring the referendum ask to the public of $35M. Read more about the Bond Cost.
Proposed Elementary School Floor Plans:
The Proposed Elementary plans are currently in development phases through review with District staff including Principals, Special Education Teachers, Classroom Teachers and Administration. The facility has 3 pods of classrooms (K-1, 2-3, 4-5) joined to create common shared spaces to create flexibility, efficiency and cross teaching collaboration between classrooms. Each pod can be locked down for security or to limit after hour access. The two station gymnasium sits adjacent to a separate cafeteria and kitchen that is located central to the building to combine major mechanical and electrical services. The location also provides effective after hour access for special events or practice space in the gym. Second floor holds a Special Education Resource Suite and spaces for Library, Music and Art.
Safe and effective movement of staff and students through the building is paramount with good visibility and access to natural daylight. The cost-effective precast construction will provide durability for generations of students as well as a time saving construction process. Functional interiors will be developed with simplicity, durability and future maintenance in mind. The teaching spaces are focused on student success by minimizing distractions, providing flexibility for staff to customize their spaces and providing natural daylight. Each pod's common areas between the classrooms house multi-use space for breakouts and collaborative teaching through flexible furniture along with lockers. Once the site location is determined, further refinement of the plan is expected to respond to pick-up and drop-off points, access to playgrounds, and safety review.
First Floor:
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Second Floor:
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Site Options
Two sites were considered for the proposed school. At the April 8th, 2024, School Board Meeting, the Board officially approved the Williston Square Location as the designated site for the proposed elementary school in the upcoming 2024 Bond Referendum.
The site will accommodate off-street pick-up and drop-off, busing, and playgrounds and fields for the facility.
