Are the schools in Rapid City School District 51-4 Overcrowded? NO, as shown by the analysis which follows.

As proven on the Demographics page for the foreseeable future RCSD 51-4 student enrollment is in a DECLINING trendline. Further, both K-5 and 6-8 demographics are the weakest portion of the demographic curve according to pipeline analysis. RCSD 51-4 currently has MORE THAN ADEQUATE levels of DISTRICTWIDE Existing Building Capacity in its 15 Elementary Schools (EXHIBIT 7 and 8), 5 Middle Schools (EXHIBIT 9 and 10), and 3 High Schools (EXHIBIT 11), both now and into the foreseeable future. According to 2022-2023 RCSD 51-4 enrollment data (EXHIBIT 13), there are currently 1,151 "Empty Seats" districtwide in the Elementary Schools (K-5), 787 "Empty Seats" districtwide in the Middle Schools (6-8), and 519 "Empty Seats" districtwide in the High Schools (9-12). According to this same 2022-2023 RCSD 51-4 enrollment data, the Elementary Schools are 83.4% utilized districtwide, the Middle Schools 78.9% utilized districtwide, and the High Schools 88.3% utilized districtwide. Put in other terms, RCSD 51-4 currently has a total of 15,100 seats districtwide across the K-12 grade levels, yet has only 12,643 enrolled K-12 students for 2022-2023 to fill those seats.


EXHIBIT 13: RAPID CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 51-4 STUDENT ENROLLMENT, CURRENT BUILDING UTILIZATION, AND CAPACITY BY SCHOOL AS OF THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR (ANALYSIS OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA)

RCSD 51-4 STUDENT ENROLLMENT, CURRENT BUILDING UTILIZATION, AND CAPACITY BY SCHOOL AS OF THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR - DOWNLOAD HERE

Using 2022-2023 RCSD 51-4 enrolled student data and the criteria listed in the 2016 MGT Report only one school (Canyon Lake ES) out of twenty-three schools in RCSD 51-4 is currently Inadequate (>110% utilization) as of the Fall 2022 semester. However, Canyon Lake Elementary is ONLY overcrowded due to the forced transfer of 170 plus students from North Rapid's 3 Elementary Schools to Canyon Lake Elementary School. As can be seen in EXHIBIT 14, eliminating the unnecessary and irrational forced transfer results in an total enrollment of approximately 187 students at Canyon Lake Elementary School or only 61.9% utilization.


EXHIBIT 14: FORCED TRANSFERS OF NORTH RAPID STUDENTS TO CANYON LAKE ELEMENTARY AS OF THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR (ANALYSIS OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA)

Why is the RCAS School Bond website (rcasforward.info) using 2015-2016 school year student enrollment data instead of 2020-2021 school year student enrollment data? Why is the 2015-2016 school year student enrollment data not matching exactly the OFFICIAL FINAL student enrollment data released by the South Dakota Department of Education in November 2015? What student enrollment year data was used by the RCAS Facilities Task Force to make decisions/recommendations to justify the largest School Bond in South Dakota history? Why is the data shown on the RCAS School Bond campaign website include pre-kindergarten children (unduplicated enrollment, denoted PK-12) versus the official K-12 student State Aid Count (denoted KG-12)? Be aware that using 2020-2021 K-12 student enrollment data released by the South Dakota Department of Education instead of the 2015-2016 data as shown on the RCAS School Bond campaign website results in a significant REDUCTION in elementary school age children from 6,720 to 5,614 which is 1,106 children or 2.4 elementary schools. At the Middle School level, there are 3,063 students in 2020-2021 versus 3,195 in 2015-2016. At the High School level, there are 4,013 students in 2020-2021 versus 3,825 in 2015-2016. In other words, the 2020-2021 K-12 student enrollment data indicates a significantly OLDER K-12 demographic than analyzed in the 2016 MGT report which results in a different result for current and future facility needs. For example, did the facility utilization calculations for the High Schools take into account that many high school juniors and seniors are NOT full-time students? Capacity calculations for the High Schools are likely too low since a large portion of the Senior Class (approximately 20% of total school enrollment) is at the High School on a limited basis for various reasons – i.e. 1 to 3 classes taken during the Senior Year. Further, a portion of the Junior class (approximately 25% of total school enrollment) is also taking part in Dual Credit enrollment and hence not at the high school for approximately half the school day.

A quote from an 12/2/2018 article in the Rapid City Journal, "We have enough capacity across the district," said Veluswamy. "But it's not in the right location." We concur with this assessment. Note: Kumar Veluswamy is the RCSD 51-4 Facilities Manager for all schools so theoretically, he is supposed to know more about the district’s buildings than anyone else in the School District. So why haven't school boundary lines been changed in many cases 8 to 12 years or more to address the CAPACITY LOCATION issue? With 1,338 "empty seats" of current capacity in the Elementary Schools as of the 2020-2021 school year, boundary line changes would seem to be an quick, efficient, and fiscally prudent solution. The RCAS taxpayers should ask why boundary line changes were not pursued by the Superintendent and the Board of Education to mitigate a few cases of overcrowding instead of creating a false narrative and hence "manufacturing a crisis" to push a $189.553 million School Bond?