Simplified: The Sioux Falls School District is getting ready to put together its next big list of building projects in the coming year, and that'll include more planning on a new Whittier Middle School. Here's a look at what's coming next.

Why it matters

  • School board members this week got a look at the timeline for the district's next capital improvement plan (CIP), which is expected to include a new building at Whittier Middle School.
  • That process will look very similar to what the district did leading up to a 2018 bond election in which the community overwhelmingly supported building three new schools and various improvements across the district. The district is expected to form a CIP committee in January with plans for the next bond election in the spring of 2027.
  • Community feedback is going to be a priority in the process, Board Member Nan Kelly said. There will also be applications available in the coming months for people interested in serving on the steering committee for the bond or for the Whittier planning committee.
"It’s really an honor to work on challenges that we have as a district and to allow the community to be part of the problem-solving," Kelly said. "And when I say problems – they're problems we want to be having because it's growth, it's children that we get to impact day in and day out."

Tell me more

The last time the district went through this process, schools were in a period of rapid growth.

Now, enrollment has leveled off, and the needs are less about managing growth and more about making sure the district is taking care of the facilities it already has.

  • In the coming months, school officials will walk through every building in the district and look at improvements that need to be made.

The Whittier Middle School project is expected to be the biggest piece of the next bond election. Whittier is currently the oldest building in the district at more than 100, and Superintendent Jamie Nold noted the comparison of costs to renovate compared to the costs to build new illustrates the need for a new building.

What happens next?

The district is working on compiling a project list next month, and then the CIP steering committee is expected to be formed in January.

  • That committee will meet throughout the spring and summer with a goal to present a final list of recommendations to the school board in August 2026.

Those recommendations will ultimately have to go to a public vote to approve a bond to fund the projects, and that vote is expected to take place in the spring of 2027.

If all is approved, construction on a new Whittier Middle School could start as soon as spring 2028 with a target open date of fall 2030.