West Fargo Public Schools Asks Community To Vote on $162.7 Million Project

January 6, 2025

Juliana Pelaez,

WEST FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) –West Fargo Public Schools expects to have over 1,000 students by the fall of 2028. The concern is if they have enough space for these students.

“So with secondary increasing by 14 percent in the next five years we need space for learners. This upcoming year at Horace High, for example, we’re going to be seeing higher, large class sizes but following year we need to make adjustments,” said Beth Slette, Superintendent of West Fargo Public Schools.

In 2023 the district held a vote asking members of the community for $147 million, but it failed to pass. This year they are asking voters for $162.7 million.

“In that time that had lapsed we did see a very a lot of increase in inflation. That inflation has really hit us hard but when we worked with our task force and even surveying our staff there’s really a mixed message on how far should we look out,” said Slette.

Voters will be faced with three questions and each requires 60 percent approval to pass.

The first question includes around $100 million for expansions at Horace High School and Heritage Middle School and must pass for the following two questions to be approved:

Question two is around $58 million for a new elementary school and renovations.

Question three would provide $5 million for a third sheet of ice at Veterans Memorial Arena.

If all three pass, the owner of a $320,000 home would pay an additional $280 a year in taxes.

“Those projects won’t be done right away, so we will have to make some adjustments and get creative again with our scheduling of our classes and our class sizes. It’ll be full, but if the question passes that will alleviate that need,” said Slette.

If the vote does not get approved, the district says attendance lines will have to be adjusted for the 2026-2027 school year to help ease the growth.

Residents who fit in the boundaries of the West Fargo Public Schools can vote on February 17th.
For more information on the proposals, you can check out our website.