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Supe's On
District leaders keeps close eye on school district growth
By By Superintendent Dave Pappone
Brandon Valley School District
Brandon Valley School District
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EmailDecember 02. 2009 2:23PM
As Brandon Valley School District continues to grow the administration is reviewing the challenges that growth brings with it. These include providing facilities, finding highly qualified staff, and dealing with the realities of an economy in recession that affects the resource engine that is critical to providing the learning environments that our students need for success.
With the construction of the new Fred Assam Elementary school and additions at the high school the district has the room it needs for the near term. However, at the elementary level there is capacity for about 700 more students and that could fill quicker than one might imagine. Using the standard planning ratios, the addition of 1,000 single family houses would fill the elementary schools to capacity. That seems like a lot of homes, but much of the new development in Sioux Falls is being driven by the east-side sewer and a majority of that ground is in the Brandon Valley School District. In addition, Brandon is continuing to grow. At pre-recession rates of construction the capacity could have been reached in as few as three years.
The district’s long-range facilities plan also calls for the construction of a fifth and sixth grade building when the current middle school reaches 90 percent capacity. We are currently between 100 and 150 students of that level now. The construction of this building would relieve some pressure on the elementary level since the fifth grade students would be moving out of the elementary buildings.
With the growth comes the need for increasing the staff. It is becoming more difficult, especially for some specific subject areas, to find highly qualified staff. The number of applications is down when we have open positions. However, the quality, reputation and location of the Brandon Valley School District has so far attracted qualified applicants. Many districts in South Dakota are not so fortunate and they find some positions go unfilled for years.
The last challenge is that the recession is affecting state and local revenues. Funding for the next two years looks like it will be limited and for growing districts that can be a real problem. Serving more students with the same, or only slightly increasing, resources means tightening our belts where we can while keeping the impact on instruction as low as possible. The governor will deliver his Budget Address on Dec. 8 and we are waiting to hear his analysis of the next two years.
The Brandon Valley School District is strong and we have planned for these times by maintaining some reserves and reducing costs before the crisis. We are positioned to weather these challenging times and appreciate all the support we get from our communities.
With the construction of the new Fred Assam Elementary school and additions at the high school the district has the room it needs for the near term. However, at the elementary level there is capacity for about 700 more students and that could fill quicker than one might imagine. Using the standard planning ratios, the addition of 1,000 single family houses would fill the elementary schools to capacity. That seems like a lot of homes, but much of the new development in Sioux Falls is being driven by the east-side sewer and a majority of that ground is in the Brandon Valley School District. In addition, Brandon is continuing to grow. At pre-recession rates of construction the capacity could have been reached in as few as three years.
The district’s long-range facilities plan also calls for the construction of a fifth and sixth grade building when the current middle school reaches 90 percent capacity. We are currently between 100 and 150 students of that level now. The construction of this building would relieve some pressure on the elementary level since the fifth grade students would be moving out of the elementary buildings.
With the growth comes the need for increasing the staff. It is becoming more difficult, especially for some specific subject areas, to find highly qualified staff. The number of applications is down when we have open positions. However, the quality, reputation and location of the Brandon Valley School District has so far attracted qualified applicants. Many districts in South Dakota are not so fortunate and they find some positions go unfilled for years.
The last challenge is that the recession is affecting state and local revenues. Funding for the next two years looks like it will be limited and for growing districts that can be a real problem. Serving more students with the same, or only slightly increasing, resources means tightening our belts where we can while keeping the impact on instruction as low as possible. The governor will deliver his Budget Address on Dec. 8 and we are waiting to hear his analysis of the next two years.
The Brandon Valley School District is strong and we have planned for these times by maintaining some reserves and reducing costs before the crisis. We are positioned to weather these challenging times and appreciate all the support we get from our communities.
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