Rapid City Area School District releases draft master plan proposing new elementary schools, additions and districtwide HVAC and security work

Co-op Architecture presented a draft facilities master plan at a Rapid City Area School District 51-4 study session, outlining facility conditions, enrollment trends and a multi‑phase set of facility priorities the district could pursue over the next decade.

The plan, presented by Jared Sarda of Co‑op Architecture, summarizes assessments of all 26 district buildings, survey and user‑group input and a set of five primary priorities: safety and security upgrades, HVAC and air‑quality improvements, strategies to address overcrowding and growth, renewal of aging elementary schools in core neighborhoods, and a fine‑arts/classroom addition at Stevens High School.

Why it matters

District officials and consultants say the plan is intended to provide a single, long‑range framework the board and community can use to prioritize projects. “We want this to be interactive,” said Jared Sarda, the Co‑op Architecture lead on the study, noting the draft was “about 95%” complete and that the firm expects community feedback to refine phasing and costs.

Key findings and priorities

- Enrollment trends: The presentation flagged a decade‑long decline in district enrollment. According to the consultants’ summary, the district lost “approximately 1,700 students” from 2014 to 2024 while homeschooling and private‑school enrollment rose; the draft ties those changes to a mix of local and broader trends and to families choosing neighboring districts or newer facilities. The consultants noted the city’s total population grew about 10% during the same period, while births in Pennington…