Over the last four years, our School Boards and Long-term Facilities Planning Committee have been evaluating and planning for our facilities needs. Maintaining our community investment in schools is a fundamental task for school boards. 

In 2021, our Board asked the community to approve additional funding for facility improvements. During the uncertainty of the pandemic, the referendum was not approved. However, the facilities improvements are still needed. The Board has been deliberating on how to address the most critical needs. We will need  to narrow our focus and consider a phased-in approach to address facility needs, and at the same time balance fiscal responsibility with our growing student population. 

We have two critical areas: PHS career and technical education improvements and a lack of space for early childhood learning.

Over the past few years, we’ve explored other facilities across the state to understand how other schools are preparing students to be career-ready and meet industry standards. Our current facilities do not have the space or 21st century technology to meet student needs. For example, if we have one piece of equipment in the shop area, students spend too much instructional time waiting in line to use that equipment. In the coming months, we will be asking local business leaders and experts in manufacturing, construction and welding to advise the district on what can be done to update our career and technical classrooms.

If you are interested in joining a planning committee to address future career technology needs and help us develop plans for the best way forward, please contact the superintendent’s office at superintendent@isd477.org or 763-389-6184.

We aim to have 100% of our students graduate career and college ready. That means students graduate from our Career Academies with their choice of industry credentials, certifications or workplace experience, college credit, internships or some form of mentorship—they’re graduating with knowledge, experience, and a strong work ethic. A high school diploma is no longer adequate for graduation. We believe students can graduate with work-ready certifications to meet the workforce shortage in our area.

The second critical need is in our early childhood education programs, which currently have long waiting lists. We know early childhood learning is fundamental to future success in school, and we also know that families rely on early childhood options so they can work in our community. We are beginning to analyze options to lease additional space to increase the number of preschool classes we can offer in the future.