Sioux Falls superintendent outlines district size, programs and budget approach at Gold Card luncheon

Sioux Falls — Jaden Olden, who identified himself as superintendent of the Sioux Falls School District, used the district's Gold Card holiday luncheon at Jefferson High School to summarize enrollment, staffing and near-term budget priorities for community members.

"The Sioux Falls School District is home to about 24,000 students, K–12," Olden said, adding that the district's preschool programs bring the total close to 25,000. He said the district serves roughly 3,000 English-language learners and that about 46% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Olden reviewed the district's footprint: four traditional high schools (Jefferson is the newest), six traditional middle schools and 23 elementary schools. He said Jefferson High School enrolls about 1,750 students in grades 9–12 and described dual-credit and AP participation as a major academic pillar: "We had over 400 unique students" take AP or dual-credit tests and the district administered nearly 800 such tests last year, Olden said.

On staffing and operations, Olden said the district employs about 3,600 people, including roughly 1,900 teachers, making the district one of the city's largest employers. He framed fiscal responsibility as an ongoing effort: "This last year, we removed about $3,000,000 from the ongoing budget because next year, we'll do about 1,000,000 again and 1,000,000 the year after to make sure that we can continue to provide services we need for all our students and our staff," Olden said.

Olden also discussed an available pool of funds he described as "about $15,000,000 that are in ODOT dollars that we could utilize," saying the district used "a little over 11,000,000 last year." He characterized the district's approach as conservative: "We will only take and use what we need to make sure that our kids have that quality education."

Looking ahead, Olden said the district is planning facilities work, including a likely replacement of an older middle school (identified in the transcript as Wigger Middle School) within a five-year planning horizon and potential construction of a new elementary school near recently annexed land from the Lenox area.

Olden framed the district's diversity and program offerings as strengths: "We have about 3,000 students that we could call English language learners ... that's the strength of our Sioux Falls school district," he said, and emphasized expanding college-level coursework during high school as a benefit to students.

The superintendent's remarks were part of a community-facing program that included student performances and presentations about community-education classes. The Gold Card luncheon concluded with door-prize drawings and a reminder about upcoming school events.

Next steps: Olden did not announce a specific board vote or new policy at the luncheon; the remarks were presented as an informational update for community participants.