Ray School Growing - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Ray School Growing

Across central and western North Dakota, school district leaders are dealing with major changes.
They are welcoming an ever-increasing number of students, thanks to the state's booming economy.
But those rising enrollment figures come with challenges.
This week, Jim Olson looks at several local districts to see how they're preparing for a new school year.
First, he takes us to Ray.

When voters in Ray were asked to OK a five million dollar addition to the school, the said responded with nearly 90% voting yes.

(Arley Larson, Ray Principal) "It's huge in this day and age to have that kind of support so we're thankful to the community for that."

Principal Arley Larson says the five million dollar project has become a 7.2 million dollar project - so the district is raising the other 2.2 million dollars now.  And he says what they're getting for the money is a lot of new space.

(Arley Larson, Ray Principal) "We'll have four big classrooms here.  A computer lab, a science lab, a business room and an extra classroom and then some offices down here."

And, there'll be a big new gymnasium that might host district or regional tournaments in the future.  Plus the lunchroom will be moved here - allowing the old eating space to be used for day care for school staff members.

(Arley Larson, Ray Principal) "One of the biggest problems there is right now is day care. And if we don't find that day care I think we'll lose some teachers so that was our plan and it's working out.  The state gave us $125,000 and that's going to help to finish this kitchen so we can make that into the daycare."

Larson says there's been an increase of about 100 students in Ray over the past three years - forcing the district to get building.

(Arley Larson, Ray Principal) "We've decided to go this route and be proactive and get this together rather than portables and stuff like that so that's how this went."

He says the project is running a bit behind schedule - it won't be ready when school begins next week, but he's willing to adapt.

(Arley Larson, Ray Principal) "We're excited about this and our staff is excited.  Everybody's a bit nervous because it's not going to be ready but it'll work out.  It's kind of like a wedding - it'll start and sooner or later you just have to deal with anything that happens - work through the problems."

He's hoping it's a successful marriage of new students, a full staff, and a lot of new space to meet the needs of a rapidly growing school district.  In Ray, Jim Olson, KX News.

Tomorrow, Jim will take us to Tioga where there are also many new students - but a different plan to deal with them.