Williston Braces for Enrollment Jump - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Williston Braces for Enrollment Jump

By the time the school year begins in late August, Williston's Public Schools will have grown by close to 200 students from one year ago.
That explosive growth comes with many challenges.

And the superintendent of schools in Williston was telling state legislators about those problems today.
The interim Higher Education Committee of the state legislature met today at Williston State College.
Today's agenda included comments from Dr. Viola LaFontaine regarding the impacts of the growing oil industry on Williston's schools.
She says one major hurdle is finding several dozen new teachers - and finding places for them to live.
But LaFontaine says they've been having success in that area in recent weeks.

(Dr. Viola LaFontaine, Williston Superintendent) "We've been able to hire 48 of the 52 teachers we need and that's an amazing thing.  And community people have stepped up and started helping us with affordable housing, saying, 'I've got a basement apartment that we've just fixed up and we'll rent it to teachers for $800 and people have been coming in and doing that."

The legislative committee continues its Williston meeting tomorrow, hearing from the president of Williston State College on oil impacts.
The president of Dickinson State College will also testify - talking about changes following revelations of improper grading for some international students.