With a green light from the school board, support services director Mike Kenton and his team have embarked on a 10-year facilities project with changes to Central High School at the top of the list. The plans are based on a study completed by consultants MGT of America last year.

This week, board members and administrators mulled over possible solutions for Central's overcrowding - an addition, a renovation, a third high school, or a technical high school as possibilities.

Board president Sheryl Kirkeby said that, so far, the district has not agreed to do any work suggested by the MGT study team. But the district has committed to doing something about Central, and administrators say decisions must be based on student achievement.

"You've got to determine what your end product is," Katie Bray, assistant superintendent, said. "What do we want our students to look like at the end of high school? That is maybe a little different philosophy than what we've had."

Central principal Mike Talley agreed.

"We've been putting Band-Aids on things," he said. "But what are we going to be doing in 20 years?"

Board member Doug Kinniburgh, who is on the building committee and has met with potential architectural design firms, said the district will have to decide soon if it will build a third high school because it will determine what kind of renovations and additions are done on the current building.

"So we're not building it too small a second time," he said.

The MGT study strongly suggested that the district build a third high school, but until funding and community support is there, Central needs to be added onto and renovated.

Funding is the largest roadblock. The cost of the building would come out of the capital outlay fund, but any new staff and programming costs would have to come out of the general fund budget, which was cut several million dollars last year and could face the same fate this year.

Bob Perceval, English department co-chairman at Central, said it is time for a third high school, but "voters haven't seen fit to finance one."

Bond issues for a third high school have been tried and failed - the first dating back to the 1980s and the last one more than 15 years ago. At the last bond vote, Rapid City Academy made its debut and now includes the Career Learning Center, and Jefferson and Lincoln schools.

"The alternative schools and academies were a major effort to draw down enrollments of the two high schools and also serve the students struggling at the high schools," Kenton said. "And they've been very successful."

Deb Steele, principal of Rapid City Academy, said 627 students are currently enrolled in alternative programs in the district.

Kenton said after the board has made decisions about what the district can afford, the facilities department will plan priorities, phases and sequences of how things are going to be done. The district will also begin working with architectural and design teams for planning, Kenton said.

He is satisfied to see that Central is the No. 1 priority for the district right now.

"It's kind of a first things first," he said.

When Kenton started with the Rapid City school district in 1977, his first job was to furnish the new Rapid City Central High School, so it isn't surprising, he said, that he feels an attachment to the work ahead of him.

"I've been here for the full cycle of the first phase of Central's life," Kenton said. "It is kind of exciting for me personally to be working on such a major upgrade consideration for the school. I'm looking forward to the task."

Changing face of Central

• Originally built to serve 1,100 students.
• Built to serve grades 10 to 12.
• Built with an open-concept design, for multiple classes in one large open space.
• Since it opened, walls were put up, ninth grade was added, and the school went to block scheduling.

What can be done to alleviate the overcrowding? Advice from the consultants:

• Maintain current locations and buildings and make additions and renovations to high schools. Cost: $69.5 million
• Balance enrollment at the high schools and make renovations and additions. Cost: $65.7 million
• Build a new high school. House alternative and vocational programs there first, and eventually, use it as a full high school. Cost: $88.1 million
• Build a smaller third high school with a technology focus, complete renovations and additions at other high schools. Cost: $67.7 million

Contact Kayla Gahagan at 394-8410 or kayla.gahagan@rapidcityjournal.com