News from the Knoff Group

After a record high enrollment for this school year, Monforton School is asking voters to fund the construction of a new middle school, the third expansion in the district since 2010.

The school is asking taxpayers to approve a $7.1 million bond for the project, Superintendent Darren Strauch said. Ballots will be sent out next Tuesday for the Sept. 29 vote.“We’re already short of space, that’s the bottom line,” Strauch said.

Earlier this year, Monforton completed a $3 million addition that tacked on three new classrooms, a cafeteria and multi-purpose space, a bigger kitchen, and support space. In 2012, they added six classrooms and some offices.

Before then, Strauch said they could barely feed a fraction of the kids in the cafeteria. Some grades had to go get their food and bring it back to their classrooms.

“It was awful to see the third and fourth graders schlep their soup up and down the hallways,” Strauch said.As soon as the new addition was finished, though, it was obvious the school’s rapidly growing population needed even more space.

Since Strauch took over in July 2012, student enrollment leapt from 250 to 425. That’s a 68 percent increase in just three years, and 55 of those students just came into the district this summer.

Source: Monforton asks for new school – The Belgrade News: Local News