Harrisburg school district looking to expand

HARRISBURG, S.D. (Dakota News Now) -The Harrisburg school district has seen rapid growth in recent years causing different schools to be very crowded.

Tonight, the school district held a public meeting to talk about the overcrowding and possible solutions.

Superintendent for Harrisburg, Tim Graf, says action needs to be taken.

“We are running out of space so really doing nothing is not an option,” said Tim Graf, Harrisburg Superintendent.

He says the focus is primarily on Liberty elementary.

“We’re expecting to cross that 600-student threshold this coming year and grow by another approximately 300 students for the coming years. So, Liberty Elementary is really the focus in the meeting tonight,” said Graf.

Mike Knudson, Harrisburg board chair says this is another aspect to addressing the different growth in Harrisburg.

“Our growth is so tremendous just as soon as we kind of tackle one opportunity of what do we do with these kids it’s like onto the next,” said Mike Knudson, Harrisburg board chair.

Both want to stress the importance of working with the city and the public on these projects for the best possible solutions.

“I’d say tonight’s just another step in the process of really listening to the community and getting their feedback on our proposed plan,” said Knudson.

The Harrisburg school district will be holding another community meeting next Tuesday and they encourage the public to attend and share their concerns.

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