We're happy to see the plans for additions at Longfellow and Lewis and Clark Elementaries are moving forward, along with the construction of a new Erik Ramstad Middle School.
Preliminary plans for the three projects were discussed at the Minot Public School?Board meeting this week, with completion dates in time for the opening of the 2013-2014 school year. It's seemingly an ambitious schedule, for sure, but opening that school year with essentially three new schools will be an enormous boost to the teachers, staff, students and parents of the school district.
Completion of these projects will also play a significant role in the recovery of Minot from the devastating Souris River flood of 2011.
The school district has done an admirable job of finding new locations for students and staff displaced by the flood this year, but portable classrooms, no matter how nice they may be, and temporary locations are meant to be just that temporary. Getting students and staff back into permanent locations will be an emotional and psychological lift to the entire city, especially the students, teachers and parents of the district.
We applaud the school district for pushing forward with what amounts to its own recovery plan from the flood, and we look forward to celebrating the openings of a new Erik Ramstad Middle School and the remodeled Longfellow and Lewis and Clark elementaries.