Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

North Dakota District Prepares for New High School

  • By Matt Jones
  • 01/18/22

The planning process for a second high school for Minot Public Schools in Minot, N.D., is underway after voters passed a $109-million bond in December 2021.

The district is currently preparing schematics to determine the facility’s layout and contents; once those schematics are complete, the plans will enter the design and development phase and get details like furniture and fixtures. The district’s most immediate goal is to have construction drawings and to be preparing for project bidding by spring.

In addition to the new construction, the district also plans to convert its existing Minot High School Magic City Campus (which currently serves students grades 11-12) into a full, four-year high school, and the existing Minot High School Central Campus (which currently serves students grades 9-10) into a middle school.

“We’re feeling very good about the schedule. We should be easily able to make all of this transition by August of 2024,” said Minot School Superintendent Mark Vollmer. “Our goal is to, by May 1, to have the high school named and a mascot and colors, and actually beginning freshmen team sports next year that will be representing that new high school.”

Remodeling work at the Magic City Campus is set to include building a second gymnasium, adding locker space and renovating the school’s science and career and technical education areas. Local news reports that the district has applied for a $10-million career and technical education grant from the state of North Dakota to aid in the proposed construction.

Another task is to engage in boundary discussions to decide which elementary and middle schools will feed into which of the district’s two full-service high schools. “We believe once that high school is in place that we will see tremendous growth in that part of town,” Vollmer said. “Those decisions are going to be very emotional discussions, but exciting discussions for people. I think we just need to realize that at the end of the day, we’re not going to be overcrowded. We’re not going to be stuffing kids in portable classrooms anymore, and we’ll be making our educational opportunities more equitable for kids.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Pitzer College

    Designing for Change in Higher Ed Learning Environments

    Higher education will continue to evolve, and learning environments must evolve with it. By prioritizing adaptable infrastructure, thoughtful reuse, strong energy performance, and wellness-centered design, campuses can create spaces that support learning today while remaining flexible for the future.

  • DFW-Area District Opens New Replacement Middle School

    The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new replacement middle school campus, according to a news release. The new facility for Wayside Middle School, originally established in 1964, was built on the site of the former district administration building and funded through Bond Proposition A in 2023.

  • Utah Valley University Opens New Engineering Building

    Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, recently held a grand-opening ceremony for the new Scott M. Smith Engineering Building, according to a news release. The facility is one of the largest engineering buildings in the state at almost 200,000 square feet, and it plays home to the university’s Smith College of Engineering and Technology (SCET).

  • classroom with crystal ball on top of a desk

    Call for Opinions: Spaces4Learning 2026 Predictions for Educational Facilities

    As 2025 winds to a close, the Spaces4Learning staff is asking its readers—school administrators, architects, engineers, facilities managers, builders, superintendents, designers, vendors, and more—to send us their predictions for educational facilities in 2026.