DICKINSON, N.D. (KXNET) — Dickinson school leaders expect their enrollment to grow by nearly 300 kids, in the next eight years. So, to keep up with the growth, the Queen City will be undergoing a renovation in its school system.

“We have some facilities that are less than ideal for a learning environment, and this is going to solve some of that. And so, I’m just I’m really excited for our students,” said Dickinson Public Schools Superintendent, Marcus Lewton.
Voters in the Dickinson Public School District just approved a $69 million bond request, Tuesday night, deciding whether or not to partake in a large project hoping to renovate Dickinson High School. With 3,554 total votes cast, 2,510 voted in favor, while 1,044 voted against.
These unofficial results show a total of 70.6 in support.

Ballots will be marked official at the next board meeting, November 6, 2023.
“They’ve been counted by judges. It’s just the board state centric code. They have to canvas them within a certain amount of time. So, they’ll take what the judges provided, and they’ll confirm it and then we’ll move forward,” said Lewton.
With more than 4,000 students, the superintendent of Dickinson Public Schools says this is not just a want, it’s a need.
“We have aging structures and aging systems in our buildings, and so, the amount of updated and maintenance to some of those is more than the district can support on its own. And space issues, you know, we continue to grow in Dickinson Public School. We’re over 4,000 kids and we just need to, we need some of our system upgrades in our buildings, like heating and ventilation, fire safety, those types of things are just overdue in time for solutions,” said Lewton.
In 2019, voters rejected two facility referendums for Dickinson Public Schools. Since that time, district leaders say they’ve worked with various community groups to better understand what options should be explored to address major challenges, which is what led them to the results we are seeing today.

The approved referendum will fund an addition and renovation to Dickinson High School and enhance security at the elementary schools.