The Spearfish School District has narrowed to three the potential sites for a new elementary school in Spearfish.

The board of education recently decided to pursue picking a site to replace the aging East Elementary School building, which needs expensive updates to meet education standards and safety codes.

"We have been looking at the East site for quite some time," Spearfish School Superintendent Dave Peters said. "It's an old high school built in 1924. The decision has been made to move forward with replacing it."

The is not about having enough space for the district's enrollment; it is about having adequate space, Peters said.

"The district bought some land near the Heritage Museum 10 to 12 years ago. At that point, we were growing," he said.

In 1997, the Spearfish School District's student enrollment was about 2,400 students. Today, enrollment is 1,945.

Peters estimates that the new building would cost nearly $8 million - which, he emphasizes, will not come from increased taxes.

"The district is able to do this without increasing taxes," he said. "We have capital outlay funds without a bond or vote. We're now considering where we want it to be."

Other pending decisions include what the district will do with the current property, which houses students in third grade to fifth grade, and what will be the configuration of a new school.

The district could continue with the current configuration: kindergarten to second grade at West Elementary, and grades three through five at the new school - or look at two neighborhood schools housing K-5.

School consultants, DLR Group of Omaha, Neb., considered six sites the school district proposed and trimmed the list to three sites:

* Ward property, west of Brookview Road and north of Interstate 90 near Exit 8.

* McGuigan property, south of West U.S. Highway 14 and west of McGuigan Road, also at Exit 8 but on the south side of Interstate 90.

* Meier property, west of North Avenue and North of Yellowstone Plaza (north of the post office).

DLR will now prepare comparative cost estimates for each.

"They will be getting a request for proposals together, and we will talk to the landowners about various options," Peters said. "We're not in a big hurry. It will probably be the end of this year before we are ready to move forward. A new school is still two years out."

Dale Nielsen of DLR has told the board that he considers the Ward property the top choice - provided that zoning, streets and utility services are in place when the district is ready to build. The positives include the site's flatness, access, proximity to utility services and community visibility, among others.

If you go

What: Public meeting to discuss three potential elementary school building sites.

When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16.

Where: Spearfish School District Office, 525 East Illinois St.