South Washington County Schools officials updated the school board on long-range facilities planning Wednesday, saying that while recent secondary construction will meet middle- and high-school capacity needs through the 2027–28 school year, the district still faces uneven elementary enrollment and about 2,000 empty elementary seats districtwide.

The presentation by Assistant Superintendent Tyrone Brookins and Assistant Director of Engineering and Infrastructure Dan Hines laid out enrollment patterns, current capacity and next steps the district plans to take to address mismatches between school size and neighborhood growth.

Brookins said the district is serving an increasing set of needs for specialized program space — including expanded alternative learning center programming (currently serving 10th and 11th graders but with interest in adding 9th and 10th graders), early learning and preschool classrooms, transportation storage and operations space, and expanded athletic and performing-arts facilities. "There is definitely a desire and opportunity to include ninth and tenth graders" in the alternative learning center and to provide CTE equipment, green space and gym space, he said.

Hines described the district's current enrollment reality and how it compares with the district's 2023 demographic report by Hazel Reinhart. He said the report's first three years of projected enrollment have been close to realized counts (98.8% for elementary, about 101% for middle and high schools), and that the district therefore considers the report accurate enough to inform near-term planning. "The report itself comprehensively was 100% accurate over the course of the first 3 years of the report," he said.

Hines said five elementary schools are projected to remain below 80% capacity (Armstrong, Cottage Grove Elementary, Crestview, Hillside, Middleton, Newport, Royal Oaks and Woodbury Elementary were listed) while several schools are approaching or exceeding 90% (Bailey, Grey Cloud, Liberty Ridge, Nuevas and Valley Crossing). He described a typical operational "sweet spot" of 80–90% utilization.

Brookins and Hines cited community development data from city planning departments, noting continued housing growth in Cottage Grove and Woodbury and saying land purchases should be considered now because available land will decrease as development continues. They also flagged external factors that could change projections, including expansion of the Math & Science Academy (projected to add roughly 350 elementary seats and about 500 secondary seats when its second campus opens) and private-school capital campaigns.

Administrators recommended several next steps: commission a new demographic report to account for recent trends, update building-capacity models to reflect current operational conditions, establish a consistent plan for allocating early-learning space, monitor enrollment to assess whether attendance-boundary adjustments are needed, study previously considered long-range items (such as an alternative learning center and land purchases), and conduct a community survey alongside the demographic study.

Board members questioned whether development phases could shift capacity pressures among attendance areas. Brookins said future construction in Cottage Grove east of Highway 61, and continued southward expansion in Woodbury, could increase enrollment pressure at Park High School and Bailey Elementary as infrastructure and utilities extend into new areas.

Administrators emphasized the near-term coverage provided by projects approved in the 2023 referendum but said the district's five-year planning horizon means pressure could return after the 2027–28 school year. They proposed the demographic update and community engagement to inform any future referendum or boundary work.

The board did not take action on facilities during the meeting; the item was presented as information and opened for questions.